AIMTo examine the effects of melatonin treatment on lipid peroxidation (LPO) and the activities of antioxidant enzymes in the testicular tissue of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats.

METHODSTwenty-six male rats were randomly divided into three groups as follows: group I, control, non-diabetic rats (n = 9); group II, STZ-induced, untreated diabetic rats (n = 8); group III, STZ-induced, melatonin-treated (dose of 10 mg/kg . day) diabetic rats (n = 9). Following 8-week melatonin treatment, all rats were anaesthetized and then were killed to remove testes from the scrotum.

RESULTSAs compared to group I, in rat testicular tissues of group II , increased levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) (P < 0.01) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) (P < 0.01) as well as decreased levels of catalase (CAT) (P < 0.01) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) (P > 0.05) were found. In contrast, as compared to group II, in rat testicular tissues of group III, levels of MDA decreased (but this decrease was not significant, P > 0.05) and SOD (P < 0.01) as well as CAT (P < 0.05) increased. GSH-Px was not influenced by any of the treatment. Melatonin did not significantly affect the elevated glucose concentration of diabetic group. At the end of the study, there was no significant difference between the melatonin-treated group and the untreated group by means of body and testicular weight.

CONCLUSIONDiabetes mellitus increases oxidative stress and melatonin inhibits lipid peroxidation and might regulate the activities of antioxidant enzymes of diabetic rat testes.

Animals ; Catalase ; metabolism ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; metabolism ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; metabolism ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Melatonin ; pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reference Values ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Testis ; drug effects ; metabolism

AIMTo study the effect of extra-corporeal shock wave (ESW) on the penile hemodynamics and histopathology in rats.

METHODSAdult male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided at random into 3 groups. ESW application was performed with a Siemens Lithostar with the rats under anesthesia lying prone on the balloon probe. Rats in Group I received a total of 1000 shocks at 18 kV and immediately underwent hemodynamic evaluation performed by direct electrostimulation of the cavernous nerve and measurement of intracavernous pressure (ICP). Rats in Group II received 3 times 1000 shocks at 18 kV at weekly intervals and hemodynamic evaluation was performed 1 month after the last ESW application. Group III served as the control. Histopathological examinations of penile tissues were done on Masson's trichrome and hematoxylin and eosin stained sections.

RESULTSPenile hemodynamic evaluation showed a trend toward a diminished mean maximal ICP, duration of erection, ICP during the plateau phase and maximal ICP/ blood pressure ratio in Group I, although there was no significant significance. The mean latency period in Groups I and II was prolonged. Petechial bleeding within tunical layers and small foci of hemorrhage within the corpora cavernosa were observed in Group I. However, histopathological examination failed to reveal any significant differences between the groups in terms of smooth muscle content, tunical thickness, organization of collagen bundles and elastic fiber-lattice framework.

CONCLUSIONESW has certain damaging effects on the penis.

Animals ; Blood Pressure ; radiation effects ; Electric Stimulation ; Hemodynamics ; High-Energy Shock Waves ; Male ; Penile Erection ; physiology ; radiation effects ; Penis ; blood supply ; innervation ; pathology ; radiation effects ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), oxidative stress (OS) is a significant contributor to male infertility. Seminal OS can be measured by a number of assays, all of which are either costly or time sensitive and/or require large semen volume and complex instrumentation. One less expensive alternative is to quantify the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) with the MiOXSYS. In this international multi-center study, we assessed whether ORP levels measured by the MiOXSYS could distinguish semen samples that fall within the 2010 WHO normal reference values from those that do not. Semen samples were collected from 2092 patients in 9 countries; ORP was normalized to sperm concentration (mV/10⁶ sperm/ml). Only those samples with a concentration >1 × 10⁶ sperm ml^-1 were included. The results showed that 199 samples fell within the WHO normal reference range while the remaining 1893 samples did not meet one or more of the criteria. ORP was negatively correlated with all semen parameters (P < 0.01) except volume. The area under the curve for ORP was 0.765. The ORP cut-off value (1.34 mV/10⁶ sperm/ml) was able to differentiate specimens with abnormal semen parameters with 98.1% sensitivity, 40.6% specificity, 94.7% positive predictive value (PPV) and 66.6% negative predictive value (NPV). When used as an adjunct to traditional semen analysis, ORP levels may help identify altered functional status of spermatozoa caused by OS in cases of idiopathic male infertility and in male partners of couples suffering recurrent pregnancy loss, and thereby directing these men to relevant medical therapies and lifestyle modifications.
Adult ; Area Under Curve ; Humans ; Infertility, Male/metabolism* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Oxidative Stress ; ROC Curve ; Reference Values ; Semen/metabolism* ; Semen Analysis/standards* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sperm Count/standards* ; Spermatozoa/metabolism* ; Young Adult