The effectiveness of valproic acid in reducing penile fibrosis after ischemic priapism

Priapism is an full or half erection which continuous more than four hours with or without sexual stimuli and orgasm. Ischemic priapism is a condition which is low or none arterial flow with corpus cavernosum hardening and persistent erection. In ischemic priapism there are time dependent changings in corporal metabolic microenvironment accompanied by hypoxia, hypercarbia and asidosis. Expanded anoxic episodes inhibit corpus cavernosum smooth muscle contractility, cause smooth muscle death and irreversible fibrosis in corpus cavernosums. TGFβ-1 is a mediator which causes fibrosis in ischemic priapism. Valproic acid(VPA), nonspecific histone deacetylase inhibitör(HDAC), is a widely used anticonvulsant drug. Studies in hypertensive and myocardial ischemic animal models showed that VPA mediated HDAC inhibition prevents inflamation, smooth muscle tissue changes, TGF-β derived fibrosis. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the present potential of VPA in penile priapism model. There were created four groups that each group had eight subject. In group 1(control-n:8) control group's rats were given distilled water intraperitoneally every day for a mount. In group 2(Control+VPA-n:8), rats were given 250 mg/kg VPA intraperitoneally every day for a mount since study beginning. In group 3 (Priapism-n:8) after six hour priapism, constrictor band was removed and rats were given distilled water intraperitoneally every day for a mount. In group 4 (Priapism+VPA-n:8) after six hour priapism, constrictor band was removed and rats were given 250 mg/kg VPA intraperitoneally every day for a mount since study beginning. All group's rats's evaluated for erectile responses in the first mount ending. Penile tissues were histologically and biochemically examined. Datas which were obtained by this priapism model study, showed that VPA's treatment's positive effects on muscle thickness permanence and soft tissue's apopitosis.