Resveratrol Improves Erectile Function In Animal Model Of Diabetes

Resveratrol improves erectile function in animal model of diabetes

Friday, August 23, 2013. An article published online on June 24, 2013 in the Asian Journal of Andrology reports the finding of researchers at China's Nanjing University of an ability for resveratrol, an antioxidant compound found in red grapes and wine, to restore erectile function in diabetic rats. Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common complication of diabetes, and is frequently an early warning sign of cardiovascular disease. In diabetic animals, apoptosis (programmed cell death) due to oxidative stress occurring in penile tissues has been implicated as a leading cause of erectile impairment.

Yu-Tian Dai and colleagues compared the effects of eight weeks of intragastric administration of resveratrol or saline among 48 rats whose diabetes was induced by streptozocin injection. A group of 12 nondiabetic rats served as controls. The team found that resveratrol restored erectile function while upregulating the expression of SIRT1 protein, which is activated by calorie restriction and has been associated with longevity. The compound simultaneously improved smooth muscle content and superoxide dismutase activity, while decreasing levels of malondialdehyde (which reflect oxidative stress).

"Diabetes-induced ED is a disease that involves multiple pathogenic pathways, including endothelial dysfunction, apoptosis and oxidative stress," the authors write. "Resveratrol not only improved endothelial function by activating endothelial nitric oxide synthase but also suppressed apoptosis and prevented oxidative stress in the corpus cavernosum."

"Calorie restriction is another effective method of upregulating SIRT1, and it is also the most common treatment for diabetic patients," they note. "Thus, resveratrol should be considered in combination with calorie restriction or other treatments to obtain better outcomes for diabetes-induced ED."

Finasteride lowers risk of prostate cancer without affecting long term survival

The August 15, 2013 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a follow-up to the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial which found that the drug finasteride, prescribed for prostate hypertrophy and male pattern baldness, lowered the risk of prostate cancer while having no impact on survival.

Finasteride had been reported by researchers involved in the seven-year Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial to reduce the risk of prostate cancer in comparison with placebo; however, a slightly greater percentage of participants who received the drug developed high-grade cancer. This led to a warning concerning the drug being issued by the FDA in 2011.

For the follow-up study, Ian M. Thompson Jr., MD, of the University of Texas and his associates evaluated data from 18,880 participants in the original trial. Information concerning prostate cancer diagnoses was collected for one year following the trial's conclusion, and mortality data was obtained for the participants for a period of up to 18 years following enrollment.

Prostate cancer was diagnosed in 14.9% of the placebo group and 10.5% of those who received finasteride. No significant difference was found in ten-year survival among all subjects and among those with high-grade cancer.

"What that tells us is that in men who take finasteride, a third fewer will be diagnosed with prostate cancer," Dr Thompson commented. "If you look at the number of prostate cancers that are diagnosed annually and multiply that by 30 percent, that's the number of cancers we might be able to prevent each year."

"That's more than 71,000 men," he noted. "That's more than 175 jumbo jets full of men who won't get cancer, who won't face treatments with side effects like sexual dysfunction."

"If we can free thousands of men each year from that unnecessary burden, we could use those resources for other important medical interventions, reducing death and suffering from disease."

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Highlight

Life Extension Update		What's Hot
	Antioxidants show potential for infertility, ED		Lifestyle improvements and heart disease treatment may be better than drugs for ED
	Vitamin treatment improves ED in men with elevated homocysteine		Supplement combo improves ED symptoms
	Younger men with ED may be at increased risk for heart disease		ED predicts death within 5 year period

Life Extension Magazine®		Health Topics
	A natural approach to erectile dysfunction that improves vascular health		Erectile dysfunction
	The intimate link between erectile dysfunction and heart disease		Diabetes
	Integrative management of erectile dysfunction		Male hormone restoration