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Updated: Aug 26, 2025
Shock Wave Application to Cell Cultures
Published on: April 8, 2014
Molecular Mechanism of Action of Low-Intensity Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy for Regenerating Penile and
Dongyi Peng1, Yan Tan2, Amanda B Reed-Maldonado2
1Knuppe Molecular Urology Laboratory, Department of Urology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, USA; Department of Urology, The Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China.
Abstract:
Sufficient functional repair of damaged peripheral nerves is a big clinical challenge in terms of long-lasting morbidity, disability, and economic costs. Nerve damage after radical prostatectomy is the most common cause of erectile dysfunction. In recent years, low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy has been explored to improve the outcomes of peripheral nerve repair and regeneration. Research indicated that application of low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy after nerve surgery promoted nerve regeneration and improved the functional outcomes, underlined the mechanisms related to increase of neurotrophic factors, Schwann cells activation, and cellular signaling activation for cell activation and mitosis induced by low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy. We searched PubMed for articles related to research on these topics in both in vitro and in vivo animal models and found numerous studies suggesting that the application low-intensity extracorporeal shockwave therapy could be a novel treatment for erectile dysfunction induced by nerve injury and other disease related to nerve injury.
