Andrologia

Calcium-binding proteins (CaBPs) have an essential role in male reproduction by modulating calcium ion metabolism. Although the brain and testis are structurally and functionally different, they show a high degree of transcriptomic and proteomic similarities. The purpose of the present study was to explore some CaBPs (Iba-1, Calbindin, Calretinin and Parvalbumin) and neural cell markers (CNPase, NG2 and Drebrin) expression in rat testis and epididymis during postnatal periods by using immunohistochemistry. Iba-1, calbindin, calretinin, parvalbumin, CNPase, NG2 and drebrin were expressed in the epididymal epithelium in each postnatal period...

Varicocele (VC) is a common urogenital disease that leads to a high risk of testicular pain or male infertility. The purpose of this research was to explore the molecular mechanism of the Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan (GFW) in the treatment of VC. The main active ingredients and targets information of GFW were screened by Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) database, and the targets related to VC were determined by GeneCards, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), and Disease Gene Network (DisGeNET) databases...

Methotrexate (MTX) is a folic acid antagonist that is commonly used in paediatric and adult oncology to treat a variety of malignancies. Internal organs, including the testis, are severely cytotoxic and genotoxic to MTX. Omega-3, as an antioxidant, has been shown to protect rat testis tissue from injury. The effect of fish oil (FO) on MTX-induced reproductive damage in rats was investigated in this work. The 28 animals were divided into four groups for this purpose (control, FO, MTX, and MTX-FO). On the third day, the MTX group received a single intraperitoneal injection of 20 mg/kg MTX...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Transverse testicular ectopia is a rare anomaly characterized by both testes descending through a single inguinal canal. The objective of this study was to investigate the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of transverse testicular ectopia (TTE) with persistent Mullerian duct syndrome (PMDS), and to deepen the understanding of the disease in clinical. A retrospective analysis of the clinical manifestation, diagnosis, and treatment of two children suffering from TTE with PMDS was conducted. Previous studies on the characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of this disease were reviewed...

The use of doxorubicin (DOX) in clinical practice continues to be challenged by its severe toxicity. DOX cytotoxic activity is not only directed against malignant tumours, given that the treatment will damage healthy tissues as well leading to irreversible injuries. This study aimed to address the in vivo effects of DOX and its co-administration with a new analog of thioamide; thiocyanoacetamide (TA) on the germinal epithelium. Thus, male rats received either intravenous injection (iv) of 0.03 mg/kg of body weight/week, 0...

Genitourinary anomalies constitute a large proportion of congenital malformations. However seminal tract anomalies, particularly ejaculatory duct (ED) anomalies are very rare and little information exists on the topic. We are reporting a very rare case of bilateral ectopic EDs opening in the bladder trigone in a 33-year-old gentleman presenting for evaluation for primary infertility. The patient's semen analysis showed low-ejaculate-volume, fructose negative, acidic pH and azoospermia. His hormonal profile was normal...

Massularia acuminata stem is often used in folkloric medicine in the management of erectile dysfunction (ED), without full scientific basis for its action. Thus, the effects of aqueous extract of M. acuminata stem (MAS) on sexual activity, hormonal action, enzymatic activity and levels of molecules associated with erectile function were assessed. ED was induced by single intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg body weight of streptozotocin in rats and treated with sildenafil citrate or MAS (50 or 100 mg/kg) orally for 2 weeks...

Oxidative stress is one of the major crosstalk between diabetes and erectile dysfunction. Tropical almond is a natural antioxidant that works in a way to neutralize the effect of reactive oxygen species in disease management. This study therefore aimed to evaluate the effects of tropical almond on the nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor-2 (nrf-2) level and smooth muscle/collagen ratio, as well as other biochemical indices in the penile tissue of diabetic rats. Six non-diabetic male rats (control) and 36 diabetic male rats were divided into six groups (n = 6)...

Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONP) are being utilised for various biomedical applications due to their unique properties like superparamagnetism and greater colloidal stability. Interaction of IONP with male reproductive system is underrepresented in the literature. Current study strives to demonstrate the effects of IONP on sperm quality, reproductive hormones and fertility of adult Wistar rats. Spherical IONP with 15-20 nm size were injected for a maximum of 60 days in three different exposure schemes. Three increasing doses (20, 40 and 80 mg/kg) along with a control group were tested...

Sperm processing for assisted reproductive technologies (ART) aims to separate immotile and debris from the motile spermatozoa in the semen. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of free centrifuge sorting (FCS) approach based on a combination of rheotaxis and swim-up on sperm biological characteristics and ICSI clinical outcomes. Each semen sample was splitted into two equal parts for 67 ICSI cycles with donation oocytes. Parts were processed with the Direct Swim Up (DSU) (control) and with the FCS method (experimental)...

RNA modification is an important part of epigenetic regulation. However, the relationship between RNA modification writers and prostate cancer (PCa) remains unclear. We obtained transcriptome data from The Cancer Genome Atlas; the expression of writers for four RNA modifications (N6-methyladenosine, N1-methyladenosine, alternative polyadenylation and adenosine-to-inosine RNA editing) was altered in PCa tissue when compared with normal tissue. RNA modification writers affect the expression of immune checkpoints...

We aimed to compare the efficacy of three tadalafil regimens for patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus (DM), at least one microvascular complication and erectile dysfunction (ED). Sixty patients attending our urology clinic with erectile problems and diagnosed with ED, having DM for at least 5 years, and at least one microvascular complication linked to DM were identified and randomly divided into three groups-Group I: used 5 mg tadalafil daily, Group II: used 20 mg tadalafil 2 h before sexual relations twice a week and Group III: used 5 mg tadalafil daily and an extra 15 mg tadalafil 2 h before sexual relations twice a week...

This study aimed to examine the testicular functions with sperm analysis of patients with COVID-19. The study was carried out with male patients aged between 18 and 50 years with positive RT-PCR test and SARS-CoV-2 virus between December 2020 and April 2021. A total of 103 participants were included in the study. The mean age was 31.24 ± 5.67 (19-45) years and the mean body mass index of the participants was 28.41 ± 4.68 kg/m2 . The patients were divided into two groups, group-1 was patients who had COVID-19, group-2 was healthy men...

To investigate the serum levels of reproductive hormones in men with azoospermia and explore the correlation between abnormal reproductive hormones and the results of testicular biopsy and seminiferous extraction. The serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone (T), and pituitary prolactin (PRL), were measured by Radio immunoassay. Testicular biopsy was used to determine whether patient's had spermatozoa. Spearman's correlation analysis was used to analyse the correlation between LH, FSH, testicular volume, and spermatogenic function...

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess whether oral antioxidant supplementation improves sperm quality in men with infertility and varicocele (VCL) who have not undergone surgical repair. In men with infertility and VCL who had not undergone surgical repair oral antioxidant supplementation significantly increased sperm concentration (WMD +5.86 × 106 /ml 95% CI: +1.47 to +10.24, p < 0.01; random effects model, six studies, 213 patients), total motility (WMD + 3...

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is believed to cause hypogonadism through increasing pro-inflammatory cytokines. Tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is a primary cytokine associated with T2DM. The study explored the association between total testosterone (TT) level and cytokines status in 53 adult males, 27 T2DM (T2DM group) and 26 non-T2DM (control group). Blood samples evaluated fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, insulin, HOMA-IR, FSH, LH, TT, prolactin, estradiol, cortisol, cortisol-binding globulin, C-reactive protein and eight cytokines (Interferon-gamma, IL-10, IL-13, IL-17A, IL-4, IL-23, IL-6, TNF-α)...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

This study investigates the use of corpus cavernosum electromyography (CC-EMG) recording as a diagnostic tool for identifying the presence of pelvic autonomic dysfunction (PAD) in patients with LUTS and concurrent ED. Fifty patients were included in the study, and the electromyographic and urodynamic findings were compared. The 50% relaxation degree was accepted as a threshold value for PAD. According to relaxation degree in CC-EMG recordings, patients were grouped as; Group 1 (with PAD) = 23 patients with a relaxation degree of less than 50%...

Testicular ischaemia reperfusion (I/R) injury results with serious dysfunctions in testis. This study aims to explore effects of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator Riociguat on experimental testicular I/R injury in rats. Twenty-one male rats were divided into three groups (Control, IR and IRR). The control group was not exposed to any application. Bilateral testis from IR and IRR animals were rotated 720° in opposite directions for 3 h to induce experimental testicular ischaemia. Animals in IR and IRR groups were subjected to 3 h of reperfusion...