Does new approach to the design and discovery of therapies to prevent erectile dysfunction?
Extensive literature supports the view that upregulated arginase activity in cavernosal tissue can reduce NOS function and NO production. Excessive arginase activity has been shown to contribute to the progression of aging-, hypertension- and diabetes-induced vascular dysfunction as well as ED. Earlier studies have shown that RhoA/ROCK and subsequent activation of p38 MAPK mediate elevation of arginase expression/activity in diabetic and hypertensive mice. Reducing corporal arginase activity by gene-based or pharmacological therapy and/or inhibition of upstream regulators of arginase expression may provide novel therapeutic approaches in the management of ED.
The finding that scopolamine blocked the conditioned behaviors, PDH and CPP, that develop after exposure to cocaine supports the hypothesis that cocaine cue reactivity in the paradigms tested is associated with learning and memory.