Don't laugh: Nanoparticle rub for impotence

The next addiction? The next big scare? Most definitely the next big joke.

What about the man's sperm? And what about the female partner? How much of a dose will she and her DNA receive.

What are nano particles, anyway? (Don't answer that, I know the text-book answer.)

There is a report of a new topical cream that delivers medication by using nanoparticles to deliver the drug - such as nitrous oxide, in the case of impotence - through the skin.

Just think about the marketing technology: beauty, sex and the latest nanomedicine.  And it doesn't hurt (that we know of).


Get ready to mute your TV if the kids are in the room. The jokes will be risque,' to say the least.

Many Adult Stem Cell Treatments in the News

This week, we've heard about a the new "bandages" for torn knee cartilages and hope for a collagen fibers made using nanotechnology.

Animal treatments for joint disease and injury are common in horses and the treatments for dogs are now being advertised by private veterinarians in Oklahoma.

The research is ongoing in humans, too.

From the BBC, an article on the first organ regenerated from the patient's own stem cells and transplanted

Scientists in Spain have carried out the world's first tissue-engineered whole organ transplant - a windpipe - made with a patient's own stem cells.

The groundbreaking technology also means for the first time tissue transplants can be carried out without the need for anti-rejection drugs.

Five months on the patient is in perfect health, The Lancet reports.

Osiris, a company that has been developing treatments developed from adult stem cells, announced earlier this month that it is making a profit and that the rights to sell 2 treatments:

Prochymal is being evaluated in Phase III clinical trials for three indications, including acute and steroid refractory Graft versus Host Disease and also Crohn's disease, and is the only stem cell therapeutic currently designated by FDA as both an Orphan Drug and Fast Track product. Osiris also has partnered with Genzyme Corporation to develop Prochymal as a medical countermeasure to nuclear terrorism and other radiological emergencies. Furthermore, Prochymal is being developed for the repair of heart tissue following a heart attack, the protection of pancreatic islet cells in patients with type 1 diabetes, and the repair of lung tissue in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The Company's pipeline of internally developed biologic drug candidates under evaluation also includes Chondrogen for arthritis in the knee.

(There's more on Osiris from the Washington Post, here.)


Way back in 2006, we heard about bladders grown for patients from adult stem cells and transplanted. The transplants were actually done in 1999 but the news came out about the time that Dr. Ayala was in the news for his work with Umbilical Cord stem cells.