Impairment of Sexual Function in Rats with Epilepsy Monica L. Andersen, PhD, 1 * Tathiana A. Alvarenga, PhD, 1 * Fulvio A. Scorza, PhD, † Gabriela Matos, PhD,* Eliza Y. Sonoda, PhD, † Camila Hirotsu, PhD,* Esper A. Cavalheiro, MD, PhD, † and Sergio Tufik, MD, PhD* Departamento de *Psicobiologia and † Neurologia Experimental—Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil DOI: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2012.02792.x ABSTRACT Introduction. Epilepsy is a chronic disease that affects men and women of all ages, with different levels of severity. Many individuals with epilepsy also suffer from impairments in sexual function. However, it is difficult to differen- tiate between the impact of the disease and the impact of antiepileptic drugs on sexual function in human subjects. Aims. To evaluate sexual behavior in adult male rats submitted to chronic pilocarpine-induced epilepsy. Methods. First, non-epileptic rats were exposed to nine training sessions to acquire sexual experience, and their baseline sexual performance was evaluated. Then, the same rats were given pilocarpine to induce status epilepticus followed by chronic epilepsy. Once the animals had developed spontaneous recurrent seizures, their sexual behavior was evaluated during three sessions. Main Outcome Measures. Examine changes in latencies to first mount, intromission, and ejaculation, and the total number of mounts, intromissions, and ejaculations. Results. All outcome measures related to sexual motivation and sexual performance were markedly impaired during chronic epilepsy compared with the baseline and the control group. Conclusion. These findings will aid in understanding the interaction between sexual behavior and epilepsy, as well as encouraging further experimental studies in human patients with epilepsy suffering from sexual dysfunction. Andersen ML, Alvarenga TA, Scorza FA, Matos G, Sonoda EY, Hirotsu C, Cavalheiro EA, and Tufik S. Impairment of sexual function in rats with epilepsy. J Sex Med **;**:**–**. Key Words. Sexual Behavior; Epilepsy; Erection; Seizure; Pilocarpine; Erectile Dysfunction; Animal Models of Impaired Sexual Function Introduction E pilepsy affects approximately 1–3% of the global population, including men and women of all ages, with different levels of severity [1]. Individuals with epilepsy often have a low quality of life due to many factors, including recurrent seizures, side effects of drug treatment, and nega- tive reactions to the medications, in addition to social stigma. In particular, sexual function is impaired in persons with epilepsy, with decreased libido and less frequent orgasms [2]. For instance, Morrell [3] showed that 14–66% of people with epilepsy have sexual dysfunction caused by both the seizures themselves and by antiepileptic medications [4]. Studying the effects of epilepsy on sexual dysfunction in human subjects is difficult, because most patients take anticonvulsants that may significantly contribute to the problems. Thus, to assess changes in sexual function of people with epilepsy, observations of sexual vari- ables in rats, such as erection, ejaculation, motiva- tional behavior, and performance, are of great importance. Animal models of epilepsy display many behav- iors that are similar to those in humans with epi- lepsy, including emotional, locomotor, and social behaviors [5], reinforcing the validity of pre- clinical models. Similar to the human condition, induction of status epilepticus (SE) by pilocarpine leads to immediate cell damage and also results in a protracted process of neurodegeneration that 1 Contributed equally to this study. 1 © 2012 International Society for Sexual Medicine J Sex Med **;**:**–**