Abstract
Purpose
Tissue damage in testicular torsion/detorsion is caused not only by the ischemia, but also by the ischemia/reperfusion injury after detorsion. Erythropoietin and sildenafil are considered to protect against ischemia/reperfusion injury. Here, we studied and compared their actions in testicular torsion/detorsion in adult rats.
Methods
Twenty-two adult male Wistar Albino rats were divided into four groups. Rats in group A (n = 5) were sham operated. Rats in group B (n = 5), group C (n = 6) and group D (n = 6) underwent torsion of the right testis and detorsion after 90 min. No pharmaceutical intervention was performed in group B. Erythropoietin (1,000 IU/kg) and sildenafil (0.7 mg/kg) were injected intraperitoneally in groups C and D, respectively, after 60 min of torsion. All animals were killed 24 h after detorsion, and their right testis was extracted, placed into 10 % formalin solution and sent for histopathological examination. The histological changes in the testes were scored according to the four-point grading system proposed by Cosentino et al.
Results
All rats in group A had normal testicular architecture (grade 1). The untreated group B had a mean grade of 3.81 (range 3.65–4). The treated groups C (mean grade 3.24; range 3.05–3.45) and D (2.69, range 2.4–2.9) presented statistically significant better results (lower grades) compared with the untreated group B. Group D had significantly better results (lower grades) than group C.
Conclusions
The intraperitoneal injection of erythropoietin and sildenafil protects against ischemia/reperfusion injury after testicular torsion and detorsion. Sildenafil may have a stronger action than erythropoietin at the doses used in this study.
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Nick Zavras and Ioannis D. Kostakis have contributed equally to this work.
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Zavras, N., Kostakis, I.D., Sakellariou, S. et al. Comparison of erythropoietin and sildenafil protective role against ischemia/reperfusion injury of the testis in adult rats. Int Urol Nephrol 46, 731–736 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11255-013-0569-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11255-013-0569-x