The effect of FK1706 on erectile function following bilateral cavernous nerve crush injury in a rat model

Purpose: We investigated the neurotrophic effect of FK1706 on erectile recovery following bilateral cavernous nerve crush injury in a rat model.Materials and Methods: A total of 28 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 equal groups. Seven animals underwent sham operation and subcutaneous vehicle injection, whereas 21 underwent bilateral cavernous nerve crush injury followed by vehicle injection alone, or by low (0.1 mg/kg) or high (1.0 mg/kg) dose FK1706 treatment. Injections were continued 5 days weekly for 8 weeks. Erectile function was then assessed by cavernous nerve electrostimulation and penile tissue was evaluated immunohistochemically.Results: No erectile dysfunction was identified in the sham treated group (mean maximal intracavernous pressure ± SEM 106.8 ± 6.4 cm H2O), whereas nerve injury significantly decreased ICP to 17.9 ± 7.0 cm H2O. FK1706 facilitated neural and erectile recovery in a concentration dependent manner with a mean ICP in the high dose FK treatment group of 80.1...