Metrics for Evaluation of Age-Related Changes in Erectile Capacity in a Rodent Model

Old rats without obvious comorbidities were capable of penile erections, but those erections were accompanied by reduced ICP responses to cavernous nerve stimulation, implying apparently reduced penile rigidity. Taken together our current observations indicate that ICP, ICP/BP, and VPE provide useful metrics/indices of erectile capacity/function, and, moreover, that improved understanding of the inter-relationships among these parameters provides a frame work for further exploration of the mechanistic basis for age-related erectile dysfunction. Zhao W, Sato Y, Melman A, Andersson K-E, and Christ G. Metrics for evaluation of age-related changes in erectile capacity in a rodent model. J Sex Med 2009;6:1885-1892.