The potential of platelet-rich plasma injections and stem cell therapy for penile rejuvenation

Penile concerns include erectile dysfunction (ED) and Peyronie disease (PD). Restorative therapies including Stem Cell Therapy (SCT) and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections are proposed to treat these concerns. SCT encompasses the harvesting and injection of mesenchymal stem cells or stromal vascular fractions from various tissue sources. PRP is derived autologously from a patient’s plasma and is then injected into the penile tissue. These therapies repair damaged penile tissue and promote both new cellular and vascular growth, as demonstrated in basic science studies. Human trials on SCT and PRP for both ED and PD and have yielded promising results with few side effects. While encouraging, small cohort size and lack of blinding or placebo control limit these studies’ external validity. Recently, the first double-blinded randomized controlled trial on PRP for ED was published, providing significant evidence of efficacy. With the rapid commercial availability of SCT and PRP for ED and PD, it is imperative to perform more randomized and placebo-controlled trials with standardized procedures and preparations to evaluate efficacy and safety. This narrative review will summarize the available literature on these penile restorative therapies to date.