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  • Writer's pictureKanna Health

Kanna Health attends the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) conference 2022

𝗞𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀: On 27-30th October, our President Ryan Protzko attended the International Society for Sexual Medicine (ISSM) conference held in Miami Beach, Florida on behalf of Kanna Health. 𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗠 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲… The society is made up of physicians, research scientists, social workers, and other healthcare or research professionals focused on sexual health. Its objective is to promote the highest standards of practice, research, education, and ethics in the study of human sexual function and dysfunction. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲… Presentations and posters covered all aspects of sexual health including male and female sexual wellness, sexual orientation and gender affirming therapy, fertility, regenerative medicine in sexual health, and oncosexology (a multidisciplinary field addressing sexual issues in patients with cancer). Details of the full programme can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eqDgqEv5 𝗞𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵’𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀…

1. Digital innovation: New digital technologies are emerging in sexual health e.g. apps to support people with diagnosis, ‘fit bits’ for sexual function - which as well as supporting therapy could also better enable the ability to quantitatively measure sexual function in the future.


2. Communication is key: There is a significant amount of misinformation out there regarding PE and often information is presented too technically for the layman to relate:

  • According to a social media analysis of PE, only 20% of PE-related TikTok videos are reliable

  • On average, patient education materials about PE are written in complicated jargon, typically at a 12th grade reading level while best practice for educational medical resources is 6th grade level

3. PE remains challenging to treat: New approaches to treating Premature Ejaculation (PE) include topical numbing products (e.g. creams, lotions, condoms), surgery and devices (e.g. leveraging transcutaneous neuromuscular stimulation), however, limitations around efficacy, practicality of use and cost remain. Despite innovation, there is still significant unmet clinical need in the treatment of PE. Sexual health therapists reinforced that PE remains a challenging, persistant problem for many of their patients. Ryan had the pleasure to meet with two of our scientific advisory board members, Stanley Althof and Jim Pfaus, in person for the first time - the team was all smiles!



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