Aging reduces contents of endogenous CO, cAMP and cGMP in rat penile tissues / 中华男科学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the relationship of aging with the changes of endogenous carbon monoxide (CO), cGMP and cAMP contents in the penile tissues of rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-four male rats were equally divided into an 8-month, a 16-month and a 24-month group, and their penile erection was detected by injecting apomorphine, their penile cavernous body harvested, and the contents of CO, cAPM and cGMP detected by improved dual wavelength spectrophotometry.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The contents of CO, cAPM and cGMP were reduced with the increase of age, with statistically significant differences between the three age groups (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Aging significantly decreased the contents of CO, cAMP and cGMP in the penile tissues of the rats, which suggests that aging might play an important role in erectile dysfunction.</p>