Regulation of cavernous nerve injury-induced apoptosis by sonic hedgehog.

Thirty to eighty-seven percent of patients treated by radical prostatectomy experience erectile dysfunction (ED). The reduced efficacy of treatments in this population makes novel therapeutic approaches to treat ED essential. We propose that abundant apoptosis observed in penile smooth muscle when the cavernous nerve (CN) is cut (mimicking the neural injury which can result from prostatectomy) is a major contributing factor to ED development.

Altered Sonic hedgehog signaling is associated with morphological abnormalities in the penis of the BB/WOR diabetic rat.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common and debilitating pathological development that affects up to 75% of diabetic males. Neural stimulation is a crucial aspect of the normal erection process. Nerve injury causes ED and disrupts signaling of the Sonic hedgehog (Shh) cascade in the smooth muscle of the corpora cavernosa.