Peyronies and all you need to know

The Penis Connective tissue POST. Peyronies and all you need to know

This post will go into just about as much science/fact base knowledge as I know.

I have seen in some theories here incorrect info about the tunica/connective tissue in general. One theory stated that connective tissue does not increase in size (hypertophy) or number (hyperplasia). According to science this is wrong.

For reference, a quick look at Muscular dystrophy and it's progression:
"A complete nervous system (neurological), heart, lung, and muscle exam may show:

Abnormal heart muscle (cardiomyopathy)
Congestive heart failure or irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia)
Deformities of the chest and back (scoliosis)
Enlarged muscles of the calves, buttocks, and shoulders (around age 4 or 5). These muscles are eventually replaced by fat and connective tissue (pseudohypertrophy).
Loss of muscle mass (wasting)
Muscle contractures in the heels, legs
Muscle deformities
Respiratory disorders, including pneumonia and swallowing with food or fluid passing into the lungs (in late stages of the disease)"

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/...cle/000705.htm

One of the sad outcomes is that in MD muscle turns to connective tissue, ECM that does not have the ability to contract or function like a muscle leading to heart failure and death. God bless those poor souls.

So it is a proven fact the connective tissue CAN increase in number.
But this is an extreme pathology, but it proves the possibility.

Now to understand connective tissue growth.

We can think of connective tissue as a spider web made up of collagen and other compounds. This spider web doesn't survive on it's own. It was built and is maintaned by the spider (chondrocyte/fibroblast).

A more scientific explanation.

"What are Chondrocytes?
Chondrocytes, or chondrocytes in lacunae, are cells found in cartilage connective tissue. The number of chondrocytes found in cartilage determine how 'bendy' the cartilage is. When looking though a microscope, chondrocytes look similar to eyeballs floating in goo. Remember the movie 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?' That section of the movie when they are eating eyeball soup? That's the easiest way to determine what type of cartilage you're talking about, the number of 'eyeballs' in the soup.

Function
So what, exactly, do chondrocytes do? Since chondrocytes are the only cells located in cartilage, they produce and maintain the cartilage matrix. So what is a cartilage matrix? If you look at the name 'chondrocyte in lacunae,' 'lacunae' is Latin for 'lake.' That's exactly what the matrix is -- a type of lake in which the chondrocytes 'swim.'

This may lead you to ask why cartilage is important in the first place. One of the principle functions of some cartilage types is to keep bones from rubbing together. We call this reducing friction. Imagine rubbing two pieces of sandpaper together. The pieces of sand in the paper rub against one another and after a while, you get a pile of dust, right? Imagine the two pieces of sandpaper were the ends of your bones. That would start to hurt! Now imagine putting a piece of regular paper in-between the two pieces of sandpaper. Now the friction is reduced, and the sandpaper moves much easier."
Chondrocytes: Definition & Function - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

Now lets look at Fibroblasts.

"A fibroblast is a type of cell that synthesizes the extracellular matrix and collagen,[1] the structural framework (stroma) for animal tissues, and plays a critical role in wound healing. Fibroblasts are the most common cells of connective tissue in animals." wikipedia.

Muscles and Tendons and probably all living tissue have fibroblasts that help to create the ECM.
What we are concerned about with PE is how to create a healthy and bigger penis.
Too much inflammation or genetic issues can lead to peyronies disease.

A new mouse model of Peyronie's disease: an increased expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 target genes during the development of penile changes.
Abstract
"Peyronie's disease (PD) is characterized by an inflammatory response beneath the tunica albuginea with fibroblast proliferation forming a thickened fibrous plaquethat may cause pain, penile curvature and erectile dysfunction. "
A new mouse model of Peyronie's disease: an increased expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 target genes during the development of penile changes. - PubMed - NCBI

[Normal connective tissue in penis and its changes in patients with erectile dysfunction and Peyronie's disease].
[Article in Russian]
tissues were obtained from 20 males aged 20-40 years who died in accidents, penis biopsies were taken from 23 patients with ED and 9 patients with PD (average age: 51 +/- 11.5 years). In both groups of patients, the volumetric fraction of collagen fibers in the tunica albuginea and corpora cavernosa was increased, while that one of elastic fibers was decreased. At the same time, the changes of elastic fibers were noted: the fibers become thinner and formed "rods".
[Normal connective tissue in penis and its changes in patients with erectile dysfunction and Peyronie's disease]. - PubMed - NCBI

As you can see peyronies looks a LOT like RSI(repetitive strain injuries), connective tissue grows thicker due to fibroblast proliferation but the ECM looses elasticity.

This is what it looks like:

IF chronic inflammation induces fibroblast proliferation and ECM dysfunction and

IF pressure/force without inflammation stimulates chondroctyes(fibroblasts) to produce more ECM

THEN people with penile RSI or peyronies can get better by stretch induced ECM depostion and ECM restructuring.

And we we see this actually happens where people can improve the curve/elasticity of there penis with stretching! gee wonder why...
So the tunica can increase its amount of ECM, number or chondroctyes, diameter of fibers, organization structure, and specific content.

With this in mind it is good for peyronies sufferers to focus more on stretching while doing less/less intense inflammatory work like jelqs. This may be a 2/1, 3/1 or 5/1 ratio depending on each person.
This is also why too much inflammation can lead to RSI and a thicker/stiffer tunica WHICH WILL LIMIT GAINS.

So a proper routine CAN add length and girth to the tunica and NOT just a plastic deformation of the ECM. The normal state for connective tissue is to maintain an ECM structure/ratio of ECM to fibroblasts sufficient for expected/previous force.

The normal state for Muscle is to maintain sufficient contractile possibility, fiber strength, and mitochondrial function for expected/previous work.

In an ideal PE situation:

1. the tunica will become longer, stronger, thicker, more elastic.
2. the muscle will increase in artery, vein, collateral(capillary), and nerve function while at the same time undergoing cellular hypertophy and hopefully stretch-induced hyperplasia by satellite stem cell differentiation, proliferation, integration, and maturation leading to permanent gains and better EQ.

If you are not gaining length then you should focus on tunica health. As tunica health/elasticity increases you WILL notice an increase in BPFS. IMHO


-RePosted From the PE Forum