OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical effects of needle-pricking therapy, a newly medical and minimally invasive technique, for functional retrograde ejaculation and to explore its mechanism. Methods Thirty-six patients with functional retrograde ejaculation were randomly divided into an observation group(19 cases) and a control group(17 cases) In the observation group,needle-pricking therapy was used at Guanyuan(CV 4) and bilateral sacral plexus nerve,lumbar 1 nerve and greater occipital nerve stimulating points,once a week. In the control group, midodrine tablets were prescribed orally,three times a day. All the treatment was given for 9 weeks. The clinical effects of the two groups were observed, and the levels of luteinizing hormone(LH), testosterone(Tes) and estra4 diol(E2) were compared between the two groups.

RESULTSThe total effective rate of the observation group was, 89. 47%(17/19), which was better than 47.06% (8/17) of the control group(P<0. 05). The LH and Tes were obviously increased and E2 was decreased compared with those before treatment in the observation group(all P< 0. 01). Tes was raised(P<0. 05) and E2 was apparently declined in the control group(P<0. 01). After treatment, the differences of serum LH and Tes were statistically significant between the two groups(both P<0. 01).

CONCLUSIONNeedle-pricking therapy has advantages for functional retrograde ejaculation probably in that stimulating lumbosacral nerves can strengthen the function of pelvic floor muscles and urethral expansion muscle and regulate sexual gland axis.