as many as 75% of diabetic men suffering from some degree of impotence

At Ukmedix News We've written quite a bit about the link between diabetes and higher rates of erectile dysfunction in men and also highlighted how doctors dealing with male diabetics should always inquire about sexual health.  Extensive new research has shown exactly how diabetes changes the molecular makeup of the body which induces the erectile dysfunction. With estimates suggesting that as many as 75% of diabetic men suffering from some degree of erectile dysfunction this research is extremely welcome.

The study done by scientists at Case Western Reserve University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine made use of a proteomics approach to look at the relative quantities of proteins in the expandable tissues which run along the length of the penis and that quickly fill with blood when an erection induced.  They used diabetic rats at different stages of diabetic progression to compare the results and managed to identify 57 individual proteins in the rat's penile tissue which either increased or decreased in number depending on the severity of the diabetes and amount of time that the rats had suffered from it. They compared these rats with a control group of healthy and non diabetic rats of the same age.

The results announced by Professor Mark Chance were that the collagen proteins which are responsible for strength were less prevalent in the diabetic rats and so were other proteins which are responsible for transporting hormones. The group of proteins which are linked to cell death and also the group linked to fat metabolism were seen to be more prevalent in the penises of the diabetic rats.

Professor Chance said that his research could lead to more studies which would examine in close detail the relationship between erectile dysfunction and diabetes and this in turn could lead to better diagnostic methods and drug treatments.

The research was published in the medical journal Molecular and Cellular Proteomics.