Nontraumatic urethral dyssynergia in neonatally estrogenized male rats.

PURPOSE: Bladder outlet obstruction develops in estrogen treated males. Because of the lack of electromyography recordings, earlier studies have not clarified the failure mechanisms of voiding. We simultaneously recorded electromyography activity of the proximal rhabdosphincter in neonatally estrogenized rats with transvesical cystometry and urethral flow, followed by morphometric analysis of the urethral structure.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Rats treated neonatally with 10 microg. diethylstilbestrol daily on days 1 to 5 after birth were used in urodynamics and morphological studies at ages 5 to 6.5 months. Using anesthesia the bladder, anterior surface of the proximal rhabdosphincter and distal urethra were exposed to record simultaneously the high frequency oscillations of intraluminal bladder pressure, and the rates of intermittent flow from the distal urethra and electromyography activity of the proximal rhabdosphincter with a suction electrode.

RESULTS

Neonatally estrogenized rats had higher mean maximal bladder pressure plus or minus standard deviation (42.1 +/- 6.4 versus 37.7 +/- 4.9 mm. Hg, p = 0.01), decreased mean flow (2.3 +/- 0.1 versus 4.1 +/- 1.6 ml. per minute, p < 0.0001) and mean increment of proximal rhabdosphincter electromyography depolarization amplitude (3.0 +/- 0.78 versus 2.6 +/- 0.87 mV., p = 0.02) compared with controls, while mean transient repolarization was absent or highly decreased (-0.3 +/- 0.61 versus 0.3 +/- 0.9 mV., p = 0.04). Morphologically the proximal rhabdosphincter was atrophied with increased connective tissue.

CONCLUSIONS

Alterations in the structure and electromyography activity of the urethral musculature imply that neonatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol predisposes male rats to urethral atrophy and dyssynergia, evident as altered electromyography activity of the proximal rhabdosphincter.