Autologous Stromal Vascular Fraction Containing Stem Cells Combined with Low Intensity Shock Wave for the Treatment of Human Erectile Dysfunction

Abstract

Objective: This study seeks to determine whether the addition of autologous Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (ADSCs) may safely synergize with the clinical effects of Low-Intensity Shock Wave Therapy (LIST) to improve Erectile Dysfunction (ED) in a small series of men. Methods: Under IRB protocols, 52 patients with multifactorial ED were treated with LIST immediately followed by a single intracavernosal injection of lipoaspirate derived autologous Stromal Vascular Fraction (SVF). Human SVF derived using our protocols has been shown to contain Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) and Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs). Subjective outcomes testing with the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) Score and Erectile Hardness Score (EHS) were administered to the patients at baseline and every 3 months for 2 years. All patients were queried for adverse reactions and all outcomes were self-reported. Results: Excellent safety was seen and none of the patients experienced any adverse reactions related to LIST or harvesting and deployment of SVF. A retrospective review of efficacy indicated that 37 out of 52 patients (71%) responded positively to the question of whether they experienced “overall improvement” after their treatment. Mean IIEF reference questionnaire scores and Mean Erectile Hardness Grading Score (EHS) were also reported by patients. Mean IIEF scores went from 10.21 baseline to 18.40 at 6 months (p=0.0008). Mean EHS scores improved from 1.34 baseline to 2.17 at 6 months (p=0.012). Conclusion: Intracavernosal deployment of autologous SVF combined with low-intensity acoustic shock wave therapy to the penis appears to be safe and may offer some benefits to a cross-section of patients who suffer from ED. Larger trials are indicated to identify which types of stem cells are optimal, which subsets of ED patients appear to benefit the most, and which types of shock wave protocols yield the best results. Autologous Stromal Vascular Fraction Containing Stem Cells Combined with Low Intensity Shock Wave for the Treatment of Human Erectile Dysfunction Elliot B Lander* and Mark H Berman Cell Surgical Network, Rancho Mirage, California, USA *Corresponding author: Elliot B Lander, Cell Surgical Network, Country Club Drive, Rancho Mirage, California, USA, Tel: 760-346-0145; Fax: 760-776-0041; E-mail: elliot@cellsurgicalnetwork.com Received August 03, 2018; Accepted September 11, 2018; Published September 17, 2018 Citation: Lander EB, Berman MH (2018) Autologous Stromal Vascular Fraction Containing Stem Cells Combined with Low Intensity Shock Wave for the Treatment of Human Erectile Dysfunction. Stem Cell Res Ther 8: 438. doi: 10.4172/21577633.1000438 Copyright: © 2018 Lander EB, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.