Can regenerative medicine help women reclaim their sex lives?

A new regenerative therapy for women who suffer from sexual arousal disorders could soon be available, thanks to US biotech holding company Creative Medical Technologies (CMT). In April, it filed a patent application for its method of using stem cells to make sex more enjoyable.

What is the disorder?

Sexual arousal disorders are linked to performance issues during sex or foreplay. A lack of blood flow to the genitals means the area isn’t stimulated enough. For women, this can lead to painful sex.

A peer-reviewed study written by researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Californa estimates 40% of women will suffer sexual dysfunction during their lives.

The disorder is akin to erectile dysfunction in the sense that the person wants to have sex but has difficulty reaching the desired physical state. CMT currently has a patent for using stem cells to treat erectile dysfunction. The new treatment focused on women would be an extension of their current research and technology.

How does the treatment work?

Unlike “female viagra”, or Addiyi, which increases the levels of desire, the new treatment focuses on the physical sexual states needed to engage in sex. Regenerative technologies, including the use of stem cells, encourage this process by targeting atherosclerotic tissue that stifles blood flow. The stem cell treatment was tested on animals before human clinical trials proceeded.

“Through utilization of regenerative technologies to augment blood flow, we believe we have a series of potential therapeutic candidates that can address this unmet medical need,” Thomas Ichim, Ph.D., a CMT board member and inventor of the technology said in a press release.

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