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Abstract
As the broad spectrum pharmacological action, aspirin has been one of the most widely used medicines since its initial synthesis; however, the association between aspirin and erectile function is still controversial. We aim to explore whether long-term aspirin administration deteriorates or preserves erectile function from adult rats and ageing rat model. Twenty adult rats (10 weeks of age) and twenty ageing rats (80 weeks of age) were randomly divided into four groups as follows: Adult-Control (normal saline [NS]), Adult-Aspirin (aspirin, 10 mg/kg/d), Ageing-Control (NS), and Ageing-Aspirin (aspirin, 10 mg/kg/d) groups (n = 10 per group). For all rats, erectile function was assessed by maximum intracavernous pressure (ICP), total area under ICP curve (AUC), ICP/mean arterial pressure (MAP) ratio, and MAP. The total treatment duration was one month. Protein expression levels of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), COX-2, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), and nNOS of the corpus cavernosum were detected by Western blot. ELISA kits were used to determine 6-keto PGF1a, PGE2, TXB2, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) levels. Total nitric oxide (NO) concentration was measured using a fluorometric assay kit. As a result, Ageing-Control rats revealed significantly decreased ICP, AUC, and ICP/MAP ratios compared to Adult-Control rats, and these effects were accompanied by reduced eNOS protein expression and lower total NO and cGMP levels; however, no difference was found in nNOS protein expression. For adult rat groups, aspirin significantly inhibited the production of 6-keto PGF1a, PGE2, and TXB2; however, it neither changed the ICP, AUC, or ICP/ MAP ratios nor altered the protein expression of eNOS, nNOS, COX-1, and COX-2. Meanwhile, aspirin did not influence the concentrations of total NO, cAMP, or cGMP. The same tendency was also found in the ageing rat model, which confirmed that aspirin did not alter erectile function. Our data suggested that long-term aspirin administration did not strengthen or weaken erectile function in adult rats or ageing rat model. Thus, it had no impact on erectile function.
Highlights
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as the inability to attain or maintain sufficient penile erection for satisfactory sexual performance[1,2]
At the voltage of 5 V, our results showed that the Ageing-Control group revealed a significantly decreased intracavernous pressure (ICP) (p < 0.0001), area under ICP curve (AUC) (p < 0.0001), and ICP/mean arterial pressure (MAP) ratio (p < 0.001) compared with the Adult-Control rats
No significant difference was observed in the ICP (p = 0.7026), AUC (p = 0.3161), and ICP/MAP ratio (p = 0.2370) between the AdultControl and Adult-Aspirin groups
Summary
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as the inability to attain or maintain sufficient penile erection for satisfactory sexual performance[1,2]. Aspirin is available without prescription for arthritis, joint pain, muscle aches and chronic musculoskeletal pain; it is well known as an important prophylaxis for CVD and atherosclerotic disease[3,5]; other ‘magical’ effects are being explored, including a protective role against stroke, thrombosis, and cancer progression[5,6,7]. Aspirin usage is common in the older population It is popularly used for any type of febrile condition, acute or chronic pain, and dysmenorrhea[3,5]. Some recent studies revealed that aspirin had no impact on erectile function[2,3,18] These studies claimed that, similar to arthritis, joint pain, muscle aches, chronic musculoskeletal pain, or atherosclerotic disease, most medical indications of aspirin were risk factors for ED3,4. These claims were not supported by any basic evidence which might help to elucidate this relationship[19]
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