Is ‘practice makes perfect’ true for the male erection, too? That’s the suggestion from a Swedish study involving amorous male mice. It found that getting erections regularly was important to the rodents’ overall erectile function. The key seemed to lie in connective tissue cells called fibroblasts. These cells have long been known to populate penile tissue, but their role has remained unclear, explained researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. “Fibroblasts are the most abundant cells in the penis of both mice and humans, but they have been neglected in research,” said study lead author Eduardo Guimaraes, a researcher at the department of cell and molecular biology at Karolinska. “Now we can show, using a very precise method called optogenetics, that they have a very important role in regulating blood flow in the penis, which is what makes the penis erect,” he said in an institute news release. The findings were published Feb. 8 in the journal Science. Of course, many studies conducted in mice don’t translate to humans. But the Swedish team said that — size aside — the penises of mice and men aren’t dissimilar. “The basic mechanisms of erection are very similar in all mammals regarding anatomy, cell structure and so on,” principal investigator Christian Göritz explained. “However, there is one difference between humans and most mammals — they have a bone…  read on >  read on >

America’s most popular cold medications contain a nasal decongestant that doesn’t work, creating a knotty dilemma for regulators, a new study reports. Cold remedies containing phenylephrine remain consumers’ most popular choice, despite decades of concern that the decongestant simply isn’t effective, researchers say. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to pull phenylephrine from store shelves, after a key advisory panel voted unanimously in September 2023 that the drug does nothing to clear stuffy noses. But such a move could create a wave of supply chain disturbances that would leave sick consumers without ready over-the-counter options, researchers report Feb. 8 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Phenylephrine tends to be combined with other drugs that are effective — analgesics, cough suppressants and antihistamines — and sold as a multi-symptom product, researchers said. Brands include Dayquil, Sinex, Mucinex and Benadryl. The only other nasal decongestant approved by the FDA, pseudoephedrine, has become much more tightly regulated because it can be used to make methamphetamine. Products containing pseudoephedrine can only be purchased by going to a pharmacy counter and handing over a driver’s license, thanks to a 2005 law aimed at combatting illicit meth. As a result, phenylephrine products have outpaced pseudoephedrine as consumers’ cold remedy of choice, researchers said. Between 2012 and 2021, consumers bought 19.8 billion units of phenylephrine products, compared…  read on >  read on >

Could drugs that give a boost to men’s sexual performance help them stave off Alzheimer’s disease? That’s the main finding from a study suggesting that erectile dysfunction meds like Cialis, Levitra and Viagra might lower the odds for the memory-robbing illness. The study wasn’t designed to prove cause-and-effect, cautioned British researchers at University College London. “More research is needed to confirm these findings, learn more about the potential benefits and mechanisms of these drugs and look into the optimal dosage,” explained study co-author Ruth Brauer, a lecturer in pharmacoepidemiology and medication safety at the university. She also believes that, “a randomized, controlled trial with both male and female participants is warranted to determine whether these findings would apply to women as well.” The findings were published Feb. 7 in the journal Neurology. Erectile dysfunction medications work by dilating blood vessels and increasing blood flow. The new study involved almost 270,000 men, averaging 59 years of age, who had all been newly diagnosed with erectile dysfunction (ED). A little more than half of them were prescribed an ED drug. None of the men had any cognitive or memory issues when they entered the study. Over five years of follow-up, 1,119 of the men were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Bauer’s team reported that men who were taking an ED drug had an 18% lower odds of developing…  read on >  read on >

No one’s brain is as sharp at 60 as it was at 20. However, new research supports the notion that folk’s brains can make subtle adjustments with age to compensate for that decline. A team of British researchers has found more evidence that as the mind ages, it sometimes recruits help from certain brain regions to make up for deficits elsewhere. This does not happen for everyone equally, stressed study lead author Dr. Ethan Knights. Still, “now that we’ve seen this compensation happening, we can start to ask questions about why it happens for some older people, but not others, and in some tasks, but not others,” said Knights, who works in the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at Cambridge University. “Is there something special about these people — their education or lifestyle, for example — and if so, is there a way we can intervene to help others see similar benefits?,” Knights said in a university news release. His team published its findings Feb. 6 in the journal eLife. Working with researchers at the University of Sussex, Knights’ group sought to elucidate the brain’s means of coping with age. “Our ability to solve abstract problems is a sign of so-called ‘fluid intelligence,’ but as we get older, this ability begins to show significant decline,” noted senior study author Dr. Kamen Tsvetanov.…  read on >  read on >

Scientists say they’ve created the first 3D-printed brain tissue where neurons network and “talk” to each other. The breakthrough could be an advance for studying neurological processes in the lab, say a team from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “This could be a hugely powerful model to help us understand how brain cells and parts of the brain communicate in humans,” said study lead author Su-Chun Zhang, a professor of neuroscience and neurology at UW–Madison’s Waisman Center. “It could change the way we look at stem cell biology, neuroscience and the pathogenesis of many neurological and psychiatric disorders,” he added in a university news release. Zhang’s team noted that researchers already have an organic model for brain research, called brain organoids. But organoids grow with much less cellular organization and inter-connective ability than the new 3D-printed tissue. With his lab’s new process, “we printed the cerebral cortex and the striatum, and what we found was quite striking,” Zhang said. “Even when we printed different cells belonging to different parts of the brain, they were still able to talk to each other in a very special and specific way.” Reporting Feb. 1 in the journal Cell Stem Cell, the Madison team said their 3-D printing technology has improved on prior attempts to create 3D-printed brain tissue. The Madison lab’s tissues include neurons created from stem cells, and…  read on >  read on >

Age-related macular degeneration can lead to vision loss in seniors, but new therapies have offered fresh hope for preserving eyesight later in life, eye experts say. These cutting-edge therapies benefit both the dry and wet types of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), says the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS). Eleven million people in the United States have AMD, with dry AMD affecting about 85% and wet AMD striking 15%. “Patients often tell me they are sure they will lose their vision because they have a family member who experienced vision loss from AMD, but with early diagnosis and treatment, we now have much more than hope to offer patients with wet or dry AMD,” ASRS Foundation President Dr. Judy Kim said in a news release. The macula is a round area at the center of the retina, which is the layer of light-sensitive cells at the back of the eyeball that capture images. People with AMD slowly begin to lose their central vision, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. They can’t see fine details either up close or far away, but their peripheral vision remains normal. The AAO gives the example of looking at a clock with hands. People with AMD might see the clock’s numbers, but not the hands. Most patients have early or intermediate dry AMD, which can remain stable for a…  read on >  read on >