Thousands of men are afflicted with an embarrassing and painful condition that triggers spontaneous, long-lasting erections. There are limited treatment options, but a solution could be on the way thanks to new research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Priapism is a condition of persistent painful penile erection in the absence of sexual desire. It is highly associated with sickle cell disease, leukemia and other blood disorders. It can also result from vasoactive drug abuse. One of the most dangerous complications seen in priapic patients is penile fibrosis, which can lead to erectile dysfunction. Priapism can be an urgent urological condition and causes of the erections lasting at least four hours are unknown. Biochemists in the laboratory of Yang Xia, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, report that an FDA-approved drug called polyethylene glycol-linked adenosine deaminase (PEG-ADA) relieved symptoms and a major complication in a pre-clinical study. Current findings appear online and will be in the March 2010 print issue of The FASEB Journal, the journal of The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
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