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Circulating endothelial progenitor cells in subjects with erectile dysfunction

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Abstract

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is often the first clinical sign of endothelial dysfunction and may precede overt cardiovascular diseases. Bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells migrate into the peripheral circulation to promote endothelial repair. The number of circulating progenitor cells is reduced in patients with cardiovascular risk factor. The objective of our study was to determine the number of these cells in patients with ED both with and without cardiovascular risk factors. These subjects have lower number of circulating progenitor cells, confirming the existence of an endothelial dysfunction and supplying the evidence that ED may be the first symptom of an endothelial damage.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Histology, Microbiology, and Medical Biotechnologies, Centre for Male Gamete Cryopreservation, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    C Foresta, N Caretta, A Lana & A Ferlin

  2. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Clinical Immunology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    A Cabrelle

  3. Department of Histology, Microbiology, and Medical Biotechnologies, Section of Microbiology and Virology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

    G Palù

Authors
  1. C Foresta
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  2. N Caretta
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  3. A Lana
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  4. A Cabrelle
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  5. G Palù
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  6. A Ferlin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C Foresta.

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Foresta, C., Caretta, N., Lana, A. et al. Circulating endothelial progenitor cells in subjects with erectile dysfunction. Int J Impot Res 17, 288–290 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijir.3901311

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijir.3901311

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