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Published-Ahead-of-Print April 17, 2008, DOI:10.2164/jandrol.107.004721

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Effect of Caffeine on Erectile Function Via Up-Regulating Cavernous cGMP in Diabetic Rats

Rong Yang , Jiuling Wang , Yun Chen , Zeyu Sun , Yutian Dai *, and Run Wang

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ytdai{at}hotmail.com.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common complication of diabetes mellitus. Phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE5I), which inhibit the breakdown of intracellular cGMP, are used to treat diabetic ED. Caffeine, a non-selective PDE inhibitor used in our daily diet, is controversial regarding its effect on erectile function. To investigate the effect of caffeine on erectile function in diabetic rat models and explore the mechanism, male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with streptozotocin (STZ) to induce diabetes mellitus. The rats with blood glucose levels above 300 mg/dL were selected for the study. The rats were divided into four groups: Group A (normal control rats), Group B (diabetic rats treated with normal saline), Group C (diabetic rats treated with caffeine, 10 mg/kg/d), and Group D (diabetic rats treated with caffeine, 20 mg/kg/d). After 8 weeks of treatment, intracavernous pressure (ICP) was measured to assess the erectile function. The radioimmunoassay was used to evaluate the level of cGMP in the cavernosum. The ICP and the cavernous cGMP decreased significantly in the diabetic rats compared to the normal controls. An 8-week administration of caffeine at the given dosages increased the ICP and cavernous cGMP in diabetic rats. In conclusion, caffeine consumption improved the erectile function of diabetic rats by up-regulating cavernous cGMP.


Key words: Erectile Dysfunction • NO/cGMP pathway • caffeine • diabetes mellitus






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