Mitochondrial Oxidative Stress Contributes to Neurodegeneration in Arteriogenic ED, According to BUSM researchers

According to researchers from BUSM’s departments of urology and pathology, neuropathy appears to follow vascular insult in arteriogenic Erectile Dysfunction (ED). In a recently published study in the British Journal of Urology the researchers found that neural injury in penile ischaemia involves a neurovascular phenomenon mediated by oxidative free radicals.

“Mitochondrial structural damage and increased HIF-1 gene expression may be early signals of oxidative stress and neurodegeneration in ED,” said lead author Kazem M. Azadzoi, MD, MA, a research professor of urology and pathology and laboratory medicine at BUSM. Up-regulation of SOD, AR and NGF may be a coordinated defensive reaction to oxidative radicals in the ischaemic penis. The study introduces the new concept of oxidative neurodegeneration in the pathophysiology of arteriogenic ED.

Therapeutic strategies to protect penile nerves from free radical incursion may enhance the efficacy of surgical and pharmacological interventions in arteriogenic ED.