Intracavernous Injection of Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy Enhances Erectile Function and Decreases the Mortality Rate in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is an agonizing complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) and it is challenging to treat ED in DM patients. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a unique therapeutic strategy comprising intrinsic growth factors. An attempt was made to explore the potentiality of the PRP treatment in DM-induced ED rats in various groups (control, DM-non-ED, DM-ED, and DM-ED treated with PRP). Streptozotocin (STZ) was used to induce DM in rats. The blood glucose levels of the DM rats were maintained at >300 mg/dl. In the 18-week experiment, survival rate, body weight, intracavernous pressure (ICP) variations, and arterial blood pressure were analyzed. The tissue restoration results were validated by histological, immunofluorescence, and transmission electron microscopic analysis. PRP treatment of DM-ED rats significantly increased all parameters of erectile function compared to pre-treatment of PRP and DM-ED treated with vehicle. The histological results revealed that PRP treatment substantially enhanced the regeneration of myelinated nerves and decreased the atrophy of corporal smooth muscle. Notably, the PRP treatment immensely enhanced the survival rate in post-surgery DM-ED rats. These results indicated certain benefits of PRP treatment in delaying damage and preventing post-surgery complications in DM patients. Hence, PRP treatment is a novel multifactorial strategy for DM-ED patients.

Membrane-activated microfluidic rotary devices for pumping and mixing.

Microfluidic devices are operated at a low-Reynolds-number flow regime such that the transportation and mixing of fluids are naturally challenging. There is still a great need to integrate fluid control systems such as pumps, valves and mixers with other functional microfluidic devices to form a micro-total-analysis-system. This study presents a new pneumatic microfluidic rotary device capable of transporting and mixing two different kinds of samples in an annular microchannel by using MEMS (Micro-electro-mechanical-systems) technology. Pumping and mixing can be achieved using a single device with different operation modes. The micropump has four membranes with an annular layout and is compact in size. The new device has a maximum pumping rate of 165.7 microL/min at a driving frequency of 17 Hz and an air pressure of 30 psi. Experimental data show that the pumping rate increases as higher air pressure and driving frequency are applied. In addition, not only can the microfluidic rotary device work as a peristaltic pumping device, but it also is an effective mixing device. The performance of the micromixer is extensively characterized. Experimental data indicate that a mixing index as high as 96.3% can be achieved. The developed microfluidic rotary device can be easily integrated with other microfluidic devices due to its simple and reliable PDMS fabrication process. The development of the microfluidic rotary device can be promising for micro-total-analysis-systems.