Peyronie’s disease plaque and fibrin
Tissue changes of Peyronie’s disease are unique
In a November 2005 abstract account, Kenneth D. Somers and Dawn M. Dawson, of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia, and Department of Pathology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, reported on their findings concerning the tissue changes that occur in Peyronie’s disease.
To begin this explanation, they remind us that Peyronie’s disease is actually a pathological fibrosis, or a situation in which there is excess fibrin tissue located in a small area to the degree that it becomes a problem for the body. In the case of Peyronie’s disease, this fibrosis also is associated with an excessive deposit of collagen in the same area of the fibrin plaque or scar.
Although the cause of Peyronie’s disease remains unknown, they tell us, injury or trauma has long been thought to be the inciting event. To determine if this is true, they looked at the cellular structure of the Peyronie’s plaque or scar to get an insight into the cause of this condition.
Materials and methods they used
Small samples of plaque tissue was taken from 33 patients with Peyronie’s disease, and control tissue and nodular tissue was taken from the penis of eight patients with Dupuytren’s contracture; both groups of tissue were analyzed for collagen staining, as well as fibrin and elastic fiber structure and distribution.
Their results
As a result of this study they found abnormally stained collagen in 97% of the samples, disrupted elastic fibers in 94% and excess fibrin deposition in 95% of the samples. These same findings were not found in the normal scared tunica albuginea of control patients who did not have Peyronie’s disease. The presence of abnormal fibrin accumulation in Peyronies plaque tissue was detected in a special chemical analysis, while this abnormal fibrin was not found in skin tissue samples from the same patients.
Their conclusions
Their conclusions from this study is that the fibrin deposits in Peyronies plaque tissue is consistent with the theory that repeated minor injury or single major injury to the tunica albuginea results in fibrin being deposited in the tissue spaces at the site of trauma to start this condition.
Peyronie’s treatment concept
Peyronie’s Disease Institute has taken the position that it is this excess fibrin deposit within the excess collagen formation that can be safely and easily removed by the use of a battery of systemic enzymes that are specific for foreign fibrin protein in the body. When combined with other known methods to increase the healing response of the immune system against Peyronie’s disease plaque, it is possible to reverse the abnormal tissue found in the tunica albuginea and therefore eliminate the cause of pain and penile curvature associated with Peyronie’s disease.
Peyronie’s Disease Treatment: Changes to Look For
Early signs of response to Peyronie’s treatment
This post is about an interesting question I am asked from time to time about Peyronie’s disease treatment. I thought it might be of interest to you. The question is asked something like this, “When people finally get some positive changes in their Peyronie’s disease, how does it usually show up? What usually happens first? I want to know what I can expect, although I know we are all different.”
Well, usually – not always – as a man continues with a sufficiently large and aggressively applied Peyronie’s disease treatment plan from PDI, he will notice at first some small and TEMPORARY changes in the size and density of his scar. The temporary nature of the change does not last long. As treatment continues the changes and improvement become permanent. Usually the scar itself will change before there is a noticeable change in the penis curvature or his ability to develop an erection. This scar change will take place maybe during months 2-6 of the treatment cycle, although I have worked with men who see changes in the scar after just a few weeks of a PDI plan. This fast response is the exception and not the rule, so do not plan on that kind of response although it does happen.
The initial and temporary improvement in the Peyronies plaque or scar will not last very long, maybe just a few days or so, and then it will often go back to how it was before – maybe even worse. I wish I could say why this happens – it just does. Soon a pattern will develop in which there is improvement, regression, improvement, regression, back and forth, etc. What happens over time is that you will notice that the amount of improvement will be greater than the regression, and the improvement will last longer than the regression. You will likely see the pattern shifting slowly in favor of improvement – it will last longer and it will be greater than the regression. Just like the stock market – it goes up and it goes down – but the general trend and pattern is that it slowly comes gets better. This is how I have seen most every case of Peyronie’s disease improve.
Just as the Peyronie’s plaque changes, a little while later it is common to see a change in the curvature. The initial change in the penis curvature is not always improvement, however. My curve worsened just after my scar showed some real strong progress for the first time. I kept in mind that the Peyronies plaque was getting better, so I did not let the change in the curve upset me. I kept working to reduce the scars I had and in time the curve I had also eventually improved.
Peyronie’s plaque and pick-up-sticks
Ever play “pick-up-sticks” as a kid? With the complex interplay of sticks lying across each other, removing one stick makes three or four other sticks shift a bit. I think the same happens in Peyronie’s disease.
How many plaques or scars do you have? If more than one, then the dynamics are made even more complicated. If you have only one scar (kind of unusual) then you have one scar that could be influencing 2-3-4 different planes of connective tissue within the corpora cavernosa of the penis that it is attached to. It is not difficult to understand that if a part of a scar is changing it could cause alteration of the tensions and angles of pull – as the scar is INCREASING or DECREASING in size – that could cause a change in the curve – to make it INITIALLY better or worse. So in this sense, an increase in your curve is only seen as a bad thing if you know FOR A FACT that your scar(s) are increasing in size, shape or density. Over time, as the plaque continues to soften and reduce in size, and as the internal pull and tension created by these plaque begins to normalize, the curve should begin to straighten. Continue monitoring yourself as you work aggressively, and you should see this positive pattern of recovery play out for you.
A worsening of the curve is acceptable if the plaque is improving. As far as treating your condition and monitoring progress, the condition of the Peyronie’s plaque is far more important to monitor than the curve; plaque changes size, shape and density characteristics, and even seem to move, and so the plaque or scar tissue exerts control over the curve; the curved penis is just a reflection of plaque activity – good or bad. A smaller plaque can create a larger curve if it is in the wrong place or is pulling or pushing in some strange way. It might make you feel sick to see your curve get worse, but ignore the curve and keep checking the condition of the Peyronie’s disease plaque. How do you check your plaque? Go to review information about my book, “Peyronie’s Disease Handbook” on the PDI website, at Peyronie’s Disease Handbook
Whenever someone sends me an email reporting that he is seeing improvement in his plaque or bent penis, I warn him that it will not initially last very long and that his problem will surely return for a short while. I can almost guarantee this pattern. Come to expect it; count on it. It is just the way it goes, so do not be discouraged or disappointed when it happens. In a short time, you will see the pattern develop that will tell you that good things are finally happening. Just stay with it.
How long it takes for the improvement to become permanent is also variable (just like everything about Peyronie’s disease). Once you get your plan fine-tuned and working well for you, most of the time it takes 6-12 months or more for the progress to level off and become as good as it is going to be. That does not mean that in 6-12 months or so you will be cured or completely well. It just means you will be as good as you are going to be, in spite of your best effort.
Peyronie’s disease treatment: changes to look for
Know what to look for in early Peyronie’s treatment
This post is about an interesting question I am asked from time to time about Peyronie’s disease treatment. I thought it might be of interest to you. The question is asked something like this, “When people finally get some positive changes in their Peyronie’s disease, how does it usually show up? What usually happens first? I want to know what I can expect, although I know we are all different.”
Well, usually – not always – as a man continues in a sufficiently large and aggressively applied Peyronie’s disease treatment plan from PDI, he will notice at first some small and TEMPORARY changes in the size and density of his scar. The temporary nature of the change does not last long. As treatment continues the changes and improvement become permanent. Usually the scar itself will change before there is a noticeable change in the penis curvature or his ability to develop an erection. This scar change will take place maybe during months 2-6 of the treatment cycle, although I have worked with men who see changes in the scar after just a few weeks of a PDI plan. This fast response is the exception and not the rule, so do not plan on that kind of response although it does happen.
The initial and temporary improvement in the Peyronies plaque or scar will not last very long, maybe just a few days or so, and then it will often go back to how it was before – maybe even worse. I wish I could say why this happens – it just does. Soon a pattern will develop in which there is improvement, regression, improvement, regression, back and forth, etc. What happens over time is that you will notice that the amount of improvement will be greater than the regression, and the improvement will last longer than the regression. You will likely see the pattern shifting slowly in favor of improvement – it will last longer and it will be greater than the regression. Just like the stock market – it goes up and it goes down – but the general trend and pattern is that it slowly comes gets better. This is how I have seen most every case of Peyronie’s disease improve.
Just as the Peyronie’s plaque changes, a little while later it is common to see a change in the curvature. The initial change in the penis curvature is not always improvement, however. My curve worsened just after my scar showed some real strong progress for the first time. I kept in mind that the Peyronies plaque was getting better, so I did not let the change in the curve upset me. I kept working to reduce the scars I had and in time the curve I had also eventually improved.
Peyronie’s plaque and pick-up-sticks
Ever play “pick-up-sticks” as a kid? With the complex interplay of sticks lying across each other, removing one stick makes three or four other sticks shift a bit. I think the same happens in Peyronie’s disease.
How many plaques or scars do you have? If more than one, then the dynamics are made even more complicated. If you have only one scar (kind of unusual) then you have one scar that could be influencing 2-3-4 different planes of connective tissue within the corpora cavernosa of the penis that it is attached to. It is not difficult to understand that if a part of a scar is changing it could cause alteration of the tensions and angles of pull – as the scar is INCREASING or DECREASING in size – that could cause a change in the curve – to make it INITIALLY better or worse. So in this sense, an increase in your curve is only seen as a bad thing if you know FOR A FACT that your scar(s) are increasing in size, shape or density. Over time, as the plaque continues to soften and reduce in size, and as the internal pull and tension created by these plaque begins to normalize, the curve should begin to straighten. Continue monitoring yourself as you work aggressively, and you should see this positive pattern of recovery play out for you.
A worsening of the curve is acceptable if the plaque is improving. As far as treating your condition and monitoring progress, the condition of the Peyronie’s plaque is far more important to monitor than the curve; plaque changes size, shape and density characteristics, and even seem to move, and so the plaque or scar tissue exerts control over the curve; the curved penis is just a reflection of plaque activity – good or bad. A smaller plaque can create a larger curve if it is in the wrong place or is pulling or pushing in some strange way. It might make you feel sick to see your curve get worse, but ignore the curve and keep checking the condition of the Peyronie’s disease plaque. How do you check your plaque? Go to my book, “Peyronie’s Disease Handbook” on the PDI website, to review information about the Peyronie’s Disease Handbook.
Whenever someone sends me an email reporting that he is seeing improvement in his plaque or bent penis, I warn him that it will not initially last very long and that his problem will surely return for a short while. I can almost guarantee this pattern. Come to expect it; count on it. It is just the way it goes, so do not be discouraged or disappointed when it happens. In a short time, you will see the pattern develop that will tell you that good things are finally happening. Just stay with it.
How long it takes for the improvement to become permanent is also variable (just like everything about Peyronie’s disease). Once you get your plan fine-tuned and working well for you, most of the time it takes 6-12 months or more for the progress to level off and become as good as it is going to be. That does not mean that in 6-12 months or so you will be cured or completely well. It just means you will be as good as you are going to be, in spite of your best effort. For some men it is complete recovery and full return to normal, and for other men it is a variable percent of improvement.
No one can accurately anticipate or tell what level of improvement will happen even after an intense effort of Peyronie’s disease treatment. Some of the worse cases make the most recovery, and some of the mildest problems improve the least. You just have to do your best and do all that you can to regain your life in the best way you can.
If you want to know more about what you might be experiencing right now with your condition, let me know. Ask a question on the blog, and I will be happy to explain what I can to you. TRH
Peyronie’s Disease Ttreatment Philosophy – General Comments
The Peyronie’s Disease Institute treatment philosophy for dealing with Peyronie’s disease is not accepted within the medical community. You should know the opinions and philosophy of PDI are not current mainstream medical thinking, although PDI has assisted a dozen or more MDs with their Peyronies problem in the last few years.
The Peyronie’s Disease Institute philosophy for Peyronie’s treatment is different from standard medical thinking in two fundamental ways.
1. PDI recommends using mainstream Alternative Medicine therapy products (vitamin E, copper copper, DMSO, enzymes, etc.), and procedures (a special manual stretching technique we have developed, http://peyronies-disease-help.com/penis-stretching.html exercise, massage and acupuncture). These are recommended even though they have not fulfilled the testing standards usually required of medication.
2. PDI has found after seven years of review and research that taking multiple therapies, all at the same time, in sufficient quantities as described on its website that it often stimulates or supports some degree of improved ability to heal and repair the famous Peyronie’s plaque or scar. The scientific term for this phenomenon is “synergy”.
The specific therapy products used by PDI are well known and generally accepted as important, and often essential, for health and well being, such as vitamin E, MSM, acetyl-L-carnitine, etc. However, what is unique is that PDI advocates these therapy products are used in combination and in significant number for maximum potential effect and benefit. This synergistic concept of therapy used by PDI to treat PD takes advantage of the affect of synergy – a concept that is very well known in medical practice. Synergy is the ability of two or more substances to work together to produce a total effect greater than what each individual therapy could produce by itself. To learn more about synergy, go to http://peyronies-disease-help.com/penis-stretching.html
This Peyronie’s disease treatment concept is based on simple observations about this problem:
· Why do some men completely recover from Peyronie’s disease without treatment? You know, this happens in about half of the case.
· Why do some men get worse and need surgery, no matter what treatment they try?
· If the Peyronie’s plaque is similar to scars like I have on other parts of my body, why does it seem to change so much – not only the size, shape, and density of the scar, but also the location?
· If it’s actually the same problem among all the men who have it, why does Peyronies vary so much from one man to the next?
· What’s the difference between the two groups of men whose Peyronie’s disease goes away on its own, and the other in which it only gets worse no matter what they do for it?
· What is the fundamental difference between these two groups of different responses?
· How can I join the group that repairs and eliminates the Peyronie’s plaque and reverses the bent penis of PD?
Certainly , no one has complete or easy answers to this questions – yet. However, I think it makes perfect sense that the man whose Peyronie’s disease simply goes away on its own has a better healing capacity, than another man whose PD never improves. It cannot be a mater of luck; nature is just not that way. It is my opinion that you can increase your healing capacity and become healthier in some yet undetermined way so you are able to heal your Peyronie’s scar and reverse your Peyronie’s bend to the best of your ability.
This Peyronie’s treatment philosophy is not offered as those it is a Peyronie’s cure, not at all. It is merely presented as a way to treat the man who has Peyronie’s disease, becausue we all know this happens in 50% of the cases – so it can be done, and it is being done. PDI is merely offering a way to increase your potential to join th ranks of the men whose Peyronie’s plaque is healed naturally. The only difference is that you are doing specific things in a deliberate and methodical manner to heal yourself better than you did the first time around.
With this statement in mind, I strongly recommend that any man, in any stage of Peyronie’s disease – no matter how chronic or advanced – should at least investigate the use of synergy created by the combination of several simultaneous non-invasive treatment measures selected on the basis of the best understanding of your problem and the information that is available to you. Peyronie’s disease treatment is variable from one man to the next. Because the Alternative Medicine therapies used in Peyronie’s disease treatment are intended not to treat the disease but to support and strengthen the man who has the problem, so he can heal and repair it to the best of his ability. Since we are all different, each man must approach his own search for a Peyronies cure on an individual basis.
When you look at the different therapy products on PDI website, realize that they are intended to increase your ability to heal and repair PD, just as it naturally and spontaneously happens in 50% of the men who develop this condition. Keeping this in mind should change the way you look not only at Peyronie’s disease, but also the way that you consider your relationship to the problem and how you hope to eventually overcome it.
Peyronie’s Disease Institute Manual Penis Stretching Method
Curved penis manual stretching method
A few days ago a man asked me about Peyronie’s treatment using the Peyronie’s Disease Institute Manual Penis Stretching Method. He is one of those who has been using a Peyronie’s treatment plan from PDI for a few months, with only slight success at this point, and added the stretching program to his plan in early October so he could get faster results. He said he thinks there has been some small change in his Peyronie’s plaque and curvature, but wants to do more with the stretching concept. So he described how he is doing his Peyronies stretching, and asked my advice.
What disturbed me was that, because he spends many hours a day at his computer, he said he stretches his penis curvature while working on his computer. I advised him not to do this. If you carefully listen and watch the penis stretching video you will see that light touch and gentle stretching are continuously emphasized throughout the video program. It is necessary to constantly think and pay attention to what you are doing so that this is done correctly. You must pay attention to the immediate response of the tissue to the gentle stretching that is being applied. In order to be really effective as every man would want it to be, this kind of Peyronies treatment is not something you do while multitasking.
For successful Peyronie’s treatment, and to reduce the Peyronie’s disease plaque with manual stretching, you must have your mind on what you are doing. Set some time aside a few times a day, at least 15 minutes each time, to stretch the plaque or scar material. If you can find more time than 15 minutes, great. Some men tell me they spend over an hour at a time while watching TV – now that is the kind of multitasking that will work in a Peyronies treatment plan.
To learn the PDI manual penis stretching method, it must be demonstrated; it does not lend itself well to written or oral instructions. If you want to know more about this process, and see some still pictures of what this stretching Peyronies treatment looks like, and a 30 second YouTube video that shows some clips from the actual penis stretching CD, go to Peyronie’s manual penis stretching
Of course, men with Peyronie’s disease know about the dangers of mechanical penis stretchers, since this site has written about this many times.
Peyronie’s Disease Treatment with DMSO
DMSO is a wide based Peyronie’s treatment
Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was first synthesized in Germany in 1866. Since then it has been available as a pulp-industry by-product for many years. Its principle use is currently that of an industrial solvent.
In 1964 Dr. Stanley W. Jacob and others at the University of Oregon Medical School were the first to describe the remarkable medicinal properties of DMSO. In this first work with DMSO they applied it to intact human skin, and discovered it penetrates rapidly and produces a wide range of pharmacologic actions. Some of these are anti-inflammation properties, local analgesia, stopping bacterial growth in it presence, increased renal function to reduce edema, a carrier action with drugs it is coupled with, softening of collagen (the primary component of the Peyronie’s disease plaque), nonspecific enhancement of immunity, dilatation of blood vessels, and reduction of blood platelet adhesion. As a result, DMSO has been used widely to treat various conditions (arthritis and bursitis, acute and chronic musculoskeletal trauma, scleroderma, chronic urogenital disorders, and unresponsive postoperative pain syndromes). To date, little to no local or systemic toxicity or tissue destruction has been noted in humans when DMSO is administered.
Of special interest in Peyronie’s disease treatment, when normal tissue is injured or deteriorates for any reason, the damaged tissue naturally produces chemicals called “free radicals.” It just so happens that DMSO is a potent scavenger of these radicals, maintaining the normal integrity of cells and tissues. These free radicals exert further harm to the damaged or aging cells, and thus prevent or slow the healing process. Using DMSO in the treatment of Peyronie’s disease seems to make sense because it can be applied locally over the superficial surface of the plaque region. Not only that, but it can be used to bring in other therapies directly into that same area – a double benefit. DMSO has been called “the most controversial therapeutic advance of modern times.” However, the 40 year controversy since it first made medical headlines seems to be bureaucratic and economic, rather than scientific. More than 10,000 articles on the biologic actions of DMSO have been reported in the scientific literature, along with 30,000 articles on the chemistry of DMSO. These reports and studies strongly support the contention that DMSO is a truly significant new therapeutic principle.
Currently, DMSO is a respected and approved pharmaceutical agent in more than 125 countries, but not the U.S. In 1970, the FDA approved DMSO for the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders in dogs and horses. Many veterinarians consider DMSO to be the most valuable therapeutic substance in their armamentarium. Later, in 1978, DMSO was given FDA approval as a therapy for interstitial cystitis, a painful and disabling urinary bladder inflammation.
In many ways, DMSO is the “aspirin” of our time. If aspirin had been introduced in 1963, as was DMSO, with its multiple beneficial therapeutic properties, aspirin surely would have been similarly restricted.
DMSO became prescriptive for humans in the USSR in 1971, in therapy of various musculoskeletal problems. Dr. V. Balabanova of the Moscow Institute of Rheumatology estimates that approximately 50 percent of the Russian population who have arthritis will receive DMSO as part of their therapy. There are more than one hundred articles in the world’s literature relating to DMSO and arthritis. This widespread and common use is based on the well-established pharmacologic actions of DMSO to reduce pain, reduce inflammation, soften scar tissue and contracted fibrous tissue elements, remove free radicals, increase circulation and stimulate healing. No one with Peyronie’s disease can deny the value of these functions in the repair of the Peyronies plaque.
Based on research from around the world, DMSO has proven to be an effective treatment for many illnesses that otherwise have no known therapy. DMSO is safer, far less expensive, and at least as effective for a variety of problems for which the medical community is presently using other, less effective, and more costly treatments. In 1972 the National Academy of Sciences evaluated the scientific data on DMSO and determined it was a least as effective as other currently approved treatments for three musculoskeletal inflammatory human conditions. Yet, it has not been given FDA approval for these same conditions. Certainly, one of the most important questions about any new medicinal therapy is safety. The only potentially serious side effect is the occasional patient who is allergic. In Peyronie’s disease treatment, this is reduced simply by the small area to which DMSO is applied and the administration of topical vitamin E and urea with the PMD-DOMSO formulation created by PDI.
A careful review of the published literature on DMSO shows there is not a single death which can be definitely attributed to this agent. Since it first appeared in the mid-1960s, hundreds of millions of treatments have been applied worldwide, showing that DMSO is a substance of extraordinary low tissue toxicity. At that time the FDA had received data submitted by approximately 1,500 U.S. physicians concerning over 100,000 DMSO applications, all showing safety and effectiveness. The pharmaceutical companies submitting this positive data were Squibb, Merck, and Syntex, all who would have suffered economic harm if this inexpensive therapy was made more popular and readily available. With the withdrawal of their support, all further U.S. DMSO research and documentation of effectiveness has stopped. Thus, the large drug companies blocked further interest or use in a safe, easy, effective and inexpensive substance, so they could develop drugs in which their profit potential was much greater.
Much of the resistance to the use of DMSO in Peyronie’s disease can be thought to be more political and economic, than scientific. For these reasons, the Peyronie’s Disease Institute has used DMSO in its therapy program from the onset. TRH