Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University have shown in a new study that connective tissue cells called fibroblasts have a so far unknown and very important function before and during an erection. The study was published in the scientific journal Sciences.
The study was conducted on mice and showed that fibroblasts enable erection. Cells have a very important role in regulating blood flow that leads to erection. How efficient this process is depends on the number of fibroblasts. In both mice and men, these are the most common cells in the penis, but the number of cells decreases with age.
“We discovered that increasing the frequency of erections leads to more connective tissue cells that enable erections, and conversely, decreasing the frequency leads to fewer cells,” says Christian Goeritz, the study’s research leader, in Karolinska Institutet website.
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Nocturnal erections decrease
Urologist Einar Christiansen has worked extensively with these issues: he confirms that erection challenges increase with age. It is very painful for many. He finds the Swedish research interesting and comments on how the researchers speculated whether frequent standing could maintain fibroblast counts.
A man usually has three or four erections during his sleep at night, during the deep sleep stage, which is called the “REM stage.” My opinion is that this phenomenon – regular erection – protects the man's reproductive ability. Naturally, this weakens with age, which current research seems to prove, Christiansen tells NTB.
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As people age, people are advised to engage in brain exercises and physical activity to maintain body and mind functions. Christiansen says that regular erections are equally important for maintaining potency.
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“Use it or lose it!”, as they say.
Watch the video: Watch what they do to your “ex”.
It is possible to train erectile ability
The more erections the experimental mice in Sweden had, the more fibroblasts they had, and vice versa.
– It's not really strange. If you put in too much effort, the body adapts, notes Goretz, a senior researcher in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology.
He believes it may be possible to train erectile function to counteract impotence in the same way as strength or fitness training in the gym.
– It's not something we showed in our study, so it's a bit speculative. But a plausible explanation is that it's better if you have a regular erection, Goretz says.
Little knowledge about fibroblasts
Many men face challenges with strength and erection as they age, but according to researchers, fibroblasts have been overlooked in research conducted on this matter. Goretz hopes that new knowledge about the role of fibroblasts in erections will lead to new treatments that could help treat impotence.
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Christiansen tells NTB that he is well aware of the role of fibroblasts in the body, and remembers negative consequences, such as excessive scarring.
– Fibroblasts are supposed to repair damaged skin and subcutaneous tissue, but they can sometimes lead to overproduction, which we can see after burns, keloid formations, in the palms – and in the penis. The article in question and my own experience indicate that these cells are sensitive to pressure. Thus, it appears that balanced production of fibroblasts in the penis is beneficial for blood supply, while overproduction of fibroblasts, which may be due to genetics or trauma, can produce scar tissue that prevents normal function.
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