Premature Ejaculation Could Be Treated With 'Heat Therapy'

(iStock)

Premature ejaculation is the most common sexual dysfunction and affects 20 to 38 percent of all men – but the good news is – there’s a new treatment on the horizon that uses “heat therapy” to treat this often embarrassing problem.

Researchers at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, are conducting the first ever pilot study using a procedure called image-guided neurothermal modulation, which works by using radio waves to lessen the sensation of a nerve.

"We're very excited that this is the first study of its kind in the world," Dr. J. David Prologo, primary investigator and UH interventional radiologist, said in a news release. "This is a fairly common condition for which men have limited options. If we can show that local therapy can help, it will provide an outpatient option for symptom control that has eluded men with this condition forever."

For the study, patients will undergo CT imaging “to guide a tiny electrode about the size of a needle to the dorsal penile nerve in the pelvis, which ultimately supplies nerve sensation to the skin of the penis.”

Once the electrode is in place, radio waves will be intermittently transmitted through the electrode to lessen the sensation carried by the targeted nerve.

Twenty-two patients will be enrolled in the study to test the safety of the procedure. It’s expected to start this month

Current options available for PE include oral medication, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which can have side-effects throughout the body over long-term use, topical anesthetics and/or behavioral therapies.