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Year
2007 |
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Archives
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Brain Defect Tied to Diabetes-Related Erectile Dysfunction
March 21, 2007
Diabetes-related erectile
dysfunction is caused by a defect in the nitric oxide (NO) mechanism
in a part of the brain called the paraventricular nucleus (PVN),
a U.S. study finds.
The PVN, located in the hypothalamus, plays a role
in many functions, including penis erection and sexual behavior.
Sexual dysfunction is a common problem in men with
diabetes. This study offers new information about the association
between diabetes and erectile dysfunction and may help improve treatments,
said researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in
Omaha.
After a series of experiments with rats, the researchers
concluded that erectile dysfunction in diabetes is due to a defect
in the NO mechanisms within the PVN. This defect is the loss in
the synthetic enzyme for the production of NO within the neurons
of the PVN. Restoring production of this synthetic enzyme may benefit
diabetic patients with erectile dysfunction
Source : Health Central
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