It might not simply be your health, nor a neurological problem causing your impotence.
Erectile dysfunction is often associated with old age. It can also, at times, go hand-in-hand with being overweight.
If you suffer from it, you might blame yourself and feel shameful that your body isn’t functioning as it once did.
But there could be another reason for your impotence: your genes.
“Identifying this SIM1 locus as a risk factor for erectile dysfunction is a big deal because it provides the long sought-after proof that there is a genetic component to the disease,” said Eric Jorgenson, PhD, a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente Northern California’s Division of Research.
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Jorgenson was the lead author in a ground breaking study that was a first to find the specific place on the human genome associated with an increased risk of erectile dysfunction.
To date, scientists say the condition has been difficult to study. This is partly due to the fact that patients often report their symptoms in different ways.
But the new evidence is conclusive. It shows that men with variations in the SIMI locus are associated with a 26 percent increased risk of erectile dysfunction.
Hopefully, the discovery will open new doors in the area of genetic-based therapies.
As Hunter Wessells, MD, and co-author of the study noted, if all goes well, men and their partners will no longer have to suffer silently with this condition, in the future.
