Imipramine-induced erection, masturbation, and ejaculation in male horses

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Imipramine hydrochloride was administered to five male horses (400-500 kg b.wt.): one experienced young stallion, two mature normal breeding stallions, one 5-year-old stallion with erection and ejaculatory dysfunction, and one long-term castrated male horse. Oral imipramine treatment (100 to 600 mg, twice daily) led to frequent erection and masturbation while at rest in the stall in a nonsexual context. Intravenous imipramine treatment over a range of doses (50 to 1000 mg) similarly induced erection and masturbation in all animals. Erection typically occurred within 10 minutes after injection, and the erection and masturbation continued intermittently for 1 to 2 hours. These erections proceeded as during sexual excitement to a normal firmness and eventual engorgement of the glans penis. Two stallions ejaculated while masturbating. Mild ataxia and drowsiness appeared at the higher doses, but the animals remained responsive to auditory, visual, and tactile stimuli. Erection and masturbation were often interrupted by activities about the barn or the approach of the handler, suggesting cortical inhibitory control of the erection. When tested in a sexual context immediately following IV treatment (500 mg), the two mature breeding stallions bred normally. The 5-year-old stallion, which had not ejaculated over several months of breeding attempts, spontaneously ejaculated following IV imipramine treatment. Subsequently, this stallion has ejaculated during copulation while on low dose oral (100 mg. twice daily) imipramine treatment. Plasma total androgens increased during treatment in these stallions. The long-term castrate showed erection and masturbation following IV imipramine treatment, suggesting that the effect of imipramine is not testosterone dependent.