Dopamine D3 Agonists: Developing Treatments for Sexual Dysfunction in Chronic Spinal Cord-Injured Male Rats
Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) and resulting dysfunction is a major health concern for military men and has immense impact on quality of life for the patients and their families. Genitourinary dysfunction is extremely common among men with SCI. This dysfunction greatly hinders quality of life and emotional well-being and is thus of great concern to military men. Surveys of men with SCI have demonstrated that regaining sexual function is an important goal, even surpassing that for recovery of walking among paraplegic men. This is of particular relevance to the military as combat-related spinal trauma is the highest in American military history and the average age of spinal casualties is 26-27 years, hence issues impacting quality of life are of great importance. Thus, the development of novel, innovative interventions is of significant relevance for patients in both the military and civilian populations. Despite the identified need and desire to improve sexual function among SCI men, we have a poor understanding of the mechanisms by which chronic injury so radically influences the spinal ejaculation generator. The current proposal aims to fill that gap: studies detailed in this proposal will test the functional benefits of a novel treatment approach for ejaculatory dysfunction. Secondly, studies are proposed to move towards an improved understanding of the effects of chronic spinal injury on the overlapping neural circuits that regulate the ejaculation reflex. Together, these studies will be beneficial in developing treatments to restore sexual function and fertility to SCI men and importantly improve their overall emotional-well-being and quality of life. Since military men suffer SCI at a relatively young age, potential for treatments of these secondary dysfunctions and thus improving quality of life is highly relevant and impactful.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1203263
Entities
People
- Lique M. Coolen
Organizations
- Kent State University