Regular erections help prevent impotence

erectile disfunction It is characterized by the inability to achieve or maintain an erection that allows for satisfactory sexual relations and can be caused by various reasons, both physical and psychological, although the Spanish Association of Urology indicates that the most common is that this pathology is caused by vascular lesions. problems because “the penis is a hugely vascularized organ.” They also note that it is “a much more common pathology than we think and may affect up to 12% of Spaniards, given that it is rare in the first decades of life (0–50 years”).

A new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University (Sweden) has discovered a potential way to prevent the onset of this male sexual function disorder, as it shows that an increase frequency of erections

leads to more fibroblasts which contribute to erections, and vice versa, that is, fewer erections leads to a decrease in the number of these cells, as explained by Christian Göritz, chief scientist at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology at the Karolinska Institutet, who led the study. .

The study was conducted on mice and the results were published in the journal. The science. Researchers have shown that connective tissue cells called fibroblasts perform a previously unknown and very important function in erections. In particular, the study shows that fibroblasts provide erection by absorbing the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which causes the blood vessels in the penis to dilate. The effectiveness of this process depends on the number of fibroblasts.

Train your ability to achieve an erection

“Fibroblasts are the most abundant cells in the penis in both mice and men, but they were not taken into account in the studies,” says Eduardo Guimarães, a researcher at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology at Karolinska Institutet and lead author of the study. studying. “We can now show, using a very precise technique called optogenetics, that they play a very important role in regulating blood flow in the penis, which is what makes the penis erect.”

The researchers were also able to show that the frequency of erections affects the number of fibroblasts in the penis, and that the more often they occur, the more fibroblasts and, conversely, a lower frequency of erections reduces the number of fibroblasts. “Actually, it’s not that strange. If you try, your body will adapt. If you run regularly, over time you will find it easier to breathe while running,” explains Christian Göritz.

You may be able to train your ability to get an erection to counteract impotence, just as you can train your strength at the gym.

As for what conclusions can be drawn from the mouse studies for humans, the researcher says there are significant similarities here too. “The basic mechanisms of erection are very similar across all mammals in terms of anatomy, cellular structure, etc.,” he says. “However, there is one difference between humans and most mammals: they have a bone in their penis. “This means that efficient regulation of blood flow is likely even more important for human reproduction.”

Older mice had fewer fibroblasts in the penis, which was also reflected in less blood flow. The ability to achieve an erection in people also declines with age, which may be due in part to fewer fibroblasts in the penis. So researchers believe it’s possible to train your ability to get an erection to counteract impotence, just like you train your strength or fitness at the gym.

That’s not what we showed in our study, so it’s a little speculative, but a reasonable interpretation is that it gets easier if you have regular erections, says Goeritz, who hopes new knowledge about the role of fibroblasts in erections may help as well. contribute to the development of new erectile dysfunction treatment.