New siRNA treatment could regenerate erectile nerves damaged by surgery

A team from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (NY, USA) has demonstrated that topical application of an siRNA treatment targeting the enzyme fidgetin-like 2 (FL2) can regenerate and restore function of erectile nerves damaged in a rat model. The results of the paper, published in JCI Insight, suggest that, after further investigation, this siRNA treatment could improve the lives of men with erectile dysfunction (ED) following radical prostatectomy. “Despite the advent of so-called nerve-sparing procedures, [radical prostatectomy] can damage the cavernous nerves, which control erectile function by regulating blood flow to the penis,” explained co-senior author Kelvin Davies (Albert...