A combination of traction and vacuum therapy “might be a good option” for treating Peyronie’s disease, researchers have reported.
Drs. Haocheng Lin and Run Wang, both of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, presented their abstract on the subject at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Urology Association, held in May in Orlando, Florida.
They explained that vacuum erectile devices (VEDs) and traction therapy had been proposed as “novel” treatments for Peyronie’s disease, but a comparison between the two methods had not been made.
Drs. Lin and Wang induced Peyronie’s plaques in 15 rats. At four weeks, the degree of penile curvature was measured for each rat. The researchers then divided the rats into three groups of five.
One group was treated with VEDs. A vacuum was used to engorged each rat’s penis for one minute. The penis was then allowed to deflate for one minute. This inflate/deflate cycle was repeated five times.
The second group received penile traction therapy, using a suspended tension gauge. Each rat underwent therapy three times a day. Each session lasted for 20 minutes with a 5 minute break between sessions.
The third group received no therapy and served as the control group.
At the 8-week mark, the rats’ curvature was measured again. Intracavernosal
pressure (ICP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were also measured at this time.
For both therapy groups, the degree of curvature had decreased from the original measurements. These rats also had less curvature than the control group rats did at 8 weeks.
Rats receiving traction therapy had saw a decrease in curvature of about 65%. Those who underwent vacuum therapy had a decrease of about 33%. The rats in the vacuum therapy group had a higher ICP/MAP ratio when compared to rats in the other two groups.
The researchers concluded that traction therapy was more effective for curvature correction and vacuum therapy was better for preserving erectile function.
“Combination therapy might be a good option for [Peyronie’s disease],” they concluded.
Resources
American Urological Association
Lin, Haocheng and Run Wang
“Comparison Of Vacuum Therapy and Penile Traction Therapy on Peyronie’s Disease Rat Model”
(Abstract presented at 2014 AUA annual meeting, May 2014, Orlando, Florida)
https://www.auanet.org/university/abstract_detail.cfm?id=PD22-05&meetingID=14ORL
Renal and Urology News
Charnow, Jody A.
“Nonsurgical Peyronie's Treatments Compared”
(May 19, 2014)
http://www.renalandurologynews.com/nonsurgical-peyronies-treatments-compared/article/347465/