European Society of Sexual Medicine consensus statement on the use of animal models for studying Peyronie’s disease

Introduction Animal models are frequently used for translational research in Peyronie’s disease (PD). However, due to lack of availability of guidelines, there is some heterogeneity in study design, data reporting, and outcome measures. Aim This European Society for Sexual Medicine consensus statement aims to provide guidance in utilization of animal models in PD research in a standardized and uniform fashion. Methods PubMed was searched for studies using animal models for PD. The following search terms were used: (“Peyronie’s disease” OR “penile fibrosis” OR “penile curvature” OR “induration penis plastica” OR “erectile dysfunction”) AND (“rodent” OR “mouse” OR “mice” OR “rat” OR “rabbit”). Outcomes This European Society for Sexual Medicine statement describes best practice guidelines for utilization of animals in PD research: power calculation, details of available models, surgical procedures, and measurement techniques, while highlighting possible pitfalls and translational limitations of the models. Results In total, 2490 studies were retrieved and 2446 articles were excluded. A total of 44 studies were included, of which 40 studies used rats, 1 study used both rats and mice, 1 study used a genetic mouse model, and 2 studies used rabbits. A significant number of the studies (70.5%) used transforming growth factor β 1 for induction of fibrosis. Oxford 2011 Levels of Evidence criteria could not be applied due to the nature of the studies. Conclusion Despite certain limitations of PD animal models presented, we aimed to provide guidance for their appropriate use in translational research, with the purpose of improving study quality and reproducibility as well as facilitating interpretation of reported results and conclusions.