Disruption of bladder function and sexual reflexes are major complications following spinal cord injury (SCI). We examined the use of telemetric monitoring of corpus spongiosum penis (CSP) pressures for assessment of micturition and erectile events following SCI in rats. Pressure catheters were implanted in the bulb of the CSP of seven male Long-Evans hooded rats, subjected to a standardized weight drop SCI (10 g x 12.5 mm) at T10. CSP pressures were analyzed for spontaneously occurring micturition and erectile events, and during ex copula reflex erection tests until 25 days after SCI. Urine volume was determined until 21 days after SCI. Results show initial loss of bladder function after SCI with gradual return of reflex micturition. When compared to baseline (BL), micturition pressure characteristics after SCI included prolonged duration, increased area under the curve (AUC), increased mean pressures, increased number of pressure peaks, and increased peak frequency. At 21 days after SCI, the urine volume per micturition was significantly increased. The number of full erectile events decreased significantly following SCI. Pressure wave analyses demonstrated increased AUC, increased maximum pressures, increased suprasystolic peak duration, increased AUC of the suprasystolic peaks, and increased maximum pressures of the suprasystolic peaks during recovery. The number of partial erectile events decreased significantly following SCI. Ex copula reflex erection testing demonstrated significantly decreased latency. The study demonstrates that telemetric monitoring of CSP pressures in conscious rats is a valuable and reliable method for assessing recovery of autonomic function following SCI.

Transplantation of glial restricted precursor (GRP) cells has been shown to reduce glial scarring after spinal cord injury (SCI) and, in combination with neuronal restricted precursor (NRP) cells or enhanced expression of neurotrophins, to improve recovery of function after SCI. We hypothesized that combining GRP transplants with rolipram and cAMP would improve functional recovery, similar to that seen after combining Schwann cell transplants with increasing cAMP. A short term study, 1)uninjured control, 2)SCI+vehicle, and 3)SCI+cAMP, showed that spinal cord [cAMP] were increased 14 days after SCI. We used 51 male rats subjected to a thoracic SCI for a 12-week survival study: 1)SCI+vehicle, 2)SCI+GRP, 3)SCI+cAMP, 4)SCI+GRP+cAMP, and 5)uninjured endpoint age-matched control (AM). Rolipram was administered for 2 weeks after SCI. At 9 days after SCI, GRP transplantation and injection of dibutyryl-cAMP into the spinal cord were performed. GRP cells survived, differentiated, and formed extensive transplants that were well integrated with host tissue. Presence of GRP cells increased the amount of tissue in the © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptExp Neurol. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 January 1. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript lesion; however, cAMP reduced the graft size. White matter sparing at the lesion epicenter was not affected. Serotonergic input to the lumbosacral spinal cord was not affected by treatment, but the amount of serotonin immediately caudal to the lesion was reduced in the cAMP groups. Using telemetric monitoring of corpus spongiosum penis pressure we show that the cAMP groups regained the same number of micturitions per 24 hrs when compared to the AM group, however, the frequency of peak pressures was increased in these groups compared to the AM group. In contrast, the GRP groups had similar frequency of peak pressures compared to baseline and the AM group. Animals that received GRP cells regained the same number of erectile events per 24 hrs compared to baseline and the AM group. Since cAMP reduced the GRP transplant graft, and some modest positive effects were seen that could be attributable to both GRP or cAMP, future research is required to determine how cAMP affects survival, proliferation, and / or function of progenitor cells and how this is related to function. cAMP may not always be a desirable addition to a progenitor cell transplantation strategy after SCI.

We developed a novel technique to simultaneously monitor micturitions and erections in rats by using pressure monitoring within the corpus spongiosum of the penis (CSP). We present data validating this technique and report pressure waveform characteristics of micturition and erectile events during four different behavioral contexts in 10 awake, freely-moving male rats. Telemetric pressure transducers were implanted in the bulb of the CSP. CSP pressure was monitored while the animals were simultaneously recorded on video for determination of presence and volume (n = 7) of micturitions and while the animals underwent behavioral tests for determination of erections. Observed micturitions and CSP pressure waveforms characteristic of micturitions occurred simultaneously (r = 0.98) at a frequency of 32 +/- 4 micturitions per 24 h and with a volume of 0.95 +/- 0.12 ml/urination. Micturition duration recorded by CSP pressure and volume determined by urine weight were highly correlated (r = 0.82). We found that 100% of visually confirmed erectile events occurred simultaneously with CSP pressure waveforms characteristic of erections during ex copula reflex erection tests. During noncontact erection and mating tests more erections were identified by telemetry than by observation alone. Erections during mating tests had a different appearance than those seen in other contexts; they were shorter in duration (P < 0.05) and typically were characterized by a single suprasystolic CSP pressure peak, highlighting the context-specificity of erections. Quality of recordings remained stable in three of four rats we followed for 8 wk. We demonstrate that telemetric recording of CSP pressure provides a quantitative and qualitative assessment of penile erections and micturition in freely behaving rats.