Cerebral small vessel disease is a group of diseases mainly affecting intracranial small artery and arteriole.The main characteristic changes of cerebral small vessel disease on MRI are diffuse white matter hyperintensities,lacunar infarcts,cerebral microbleeds,and enlarged perivascular spaces.These changes may be correlated with cognitive impairment.At present,many scales are available and can be used to evaluate cerebral small vessel disease caused cognitive inpairment.

Objective By employing surgically induced varicocele(VC)in SD rats and an apomorphine(APO)test,we screened rats with erectile dysfunction(ED)after VC and explored method to establish VC and ED models.Methods Sixty rats were randomly divided into Control,Sham,and Model groups with 20 rats in each group.Using the Turner method,we partially ligated the left renal vein to induce left VC three times.APO tests were conducted to screen rats with ED after inducing VC.The numbers of erections,genital grooming,and yawning were observed and recorded.The diameter of bilateral spermatic veins were measured.Both testises and kidneys were weighed.HE staining was used to observe pathological changes of penis and left testis.The success rate of modeling was calculated in the Model group.Results A VC and ED model was successfully established in 15 out of 20 rats in the Model group with a success rate of 75％.After modeling,the diameter of the left spermatic vein in the model group was increased significantly(P＜0.01)and was significantly larger than that before modeling(P＜0.01).The diameter of the right spermatic vein in the Model group was increased(P＜0.05)and higher(P＜0.05)than that before modeling.The weight of the left testis in the Model group was significantly decreased(P＜0.01)compared with that of the right testis.No significant difference in the bilateral kidney weights were observed between or within groups(P＜0.05).In the Model group,the numbers of erections,yawning,and genital grooming decreased significantly(P＜0.01)with the time of modeling.Pathological changes of the left testis and penis were significant in the Model group.Conclusions The Turner method increases the diameter of the spermatic vein in rats,causing testis injury and weight loss,and APO tests can be used to screen rats with ED after VC induction.The combination of the two method is suitable to establish an animal model of VC with an ED status similar to humans.