Effects of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on bladder and erectile (dys)function in the same rat in vivo

OBJECTIVE To establish the methods, feasibility and utility of evaluating the impact of diabetes on bladder and erectile function in the same rat, as more than half of diabetic patients have bladder dysfunction, and half of diabetic men have erectile dysfunction, but the severity of coincident disease has not been rigorously assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS In all, 16 F-344 rats had diabetes induced by streptozotocin (STZ), and were divided into insulin-treated (five) and untreated (11), and compared with age-matched controls (10), all assessed in parallel. All STZ rats were diabetic for 8–11 weeks. Cystometric studies were conducted on all rats, with cavernosometric studies conducted on a subset of rats. RESULTS There were insulin-reversible increases in the following cystometric variables; bladder weight, bladder capacity, micturition volume, residual volume, micturition pressure and spontaneous activity (P