Journal of Andrology

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a frequent occurrence in male patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Long-term intermittent hypoxia (LTIH), one of the hallmarks of OSAS, could mediate ED. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that increased nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase activity contributes to ED in rat responses to LTIH. Healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly distributed into 4 groups: a LTIH group, an apocynin (a selective NADPH oxidase inhibitor)-treated LTIH group, a sham LTIH group, and an apocynin-treated sham group...

The present study was aimed at investigating the effects of the crude alkaloids isolated from Chromolaena odorata leaves on the hormonal and spermatogenic indices of male rats. The alkaloids obtained from C odorata leaves using standard methods were administered to male rats for 60 days at the doses of 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg body weight. Thin-layer chromatographic analysis of the alkaloid mixture produced 8 spots, 3 of which were alkaloids with R(f) values of 0.41, 0.49, and 0.55 as confirmed by the formation of orange color and creamy precipitates with both Dragendorff and Mayer reagents, respectively...

The human erectile mechanism is an intricate interplay of hormonal, vascular, neurological, sinusoidal, pharmacological, and psychological factors. However, the relative influence of each respective component remains somewhat unclear, and merits further study. We investigated the role of venous outflow in an attempt to isolate the key determinant of erectile function. Dynamic infusion cavernosometry and cavernosography was conducted on 15 defrosted human cadavers, both before and after the systematic removal and ligation of erection-related penile veins...

Many studies have shown that skin tissue extracted by circumcision can cause differences in sexual function, especially at the time of ejaculation. Sensitivity changes in penile skin and sexual satisfaction deriving from circumcision starting from premature ejaculation (PE) are discussed. Furthermore, most of these studies rely on questionnaires. Extracted free nerve endings (FNE) on the foreskin, which can detect temperature, mechanical stimuli (touch, pressure, stretch) or pain (nociception), have not been researched...

Erectile dysfunction (ED) reflects a risk for systemic cardiovascular diseases by virtue of a common etiology of vascular endothelial dysfunction, which is increasingly reported to affect young adults. On the basis of physiological phenomenon of reactive hyperemia (RH), systemic and penile endothelial functions in healthy young adults were compared with the use of digital data on arterial waveforms before and after RH induction. Between July 2009 and March 2011, 32 young adult volunteers with normal erectile functions were recruited...

Low or high hematocrit levels are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, mediated via anemia or thromboembolic events, respectively. It is therefore important to identify factors that influence hematocrit. Although androgens are known to stimulate hematopoietic cells, it is unknown whether circulating sex steroid hormones affect hematocrit. The association between serum sex steroid hormone concentrations and hematocrit in men aged ≥ 20 years was evaluated in a cross-sectional study of 1273 men in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1991)...

Accumulated understanding of epigenetic modifications during ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury suggests that additional targeted approaches and novel mechanisms that have not been explored in the reproductive system underlie the pathogenesis. Here we show, with a standard murine model of testicular IR, ischemia-induced histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity in the testis with concomitant reduction in histone acetyl transferase activity in vivo. Pretreatment with chemical HDAC inhibitors significantly induced apoptosis in tetraploid pachytene spermatocytes during ischemic insult and thereafter resulted in attenuated meiotic differentiation...

Acute urinary retention (AUR) is characterized by a sudden and painful inability to pass urine and is the most common urological emergency. However, according to our knowledge, no study to date has attempted to explore the monthly variation of AUR after adjusting for climatic parameters. This study aimed to examine the monthly variation of AUR due to benign prostatic enlargement (BPE) in Taiwan. The data used in this study were sourced from 2 datasets: the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005 and a meteorological dataset supplied by the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

A 31-year-old Caucasian male was referred for panhypopituitarism resulting from a surgically removed craniopharyngioma. The patient had been previously submitted to kidney transplantation for end-stage renal disease from X-linked Alport syndrome (ATS). Subsequent quantitative fluorescent polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated a 47,XXY karyotype consistent with Klinefelter syndrome (KS). The relevance of this unique case stems from several issues: 1) KS was an unexpected finding because of a previous diagnosis of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism resulting from craniopharyngioma; 2) the discovery of a de novo p...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Recently, adrenal androgens have been targeted as key hormones for the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer therapeutics. Although circulating adrenal androgens originate mainly from the adrenal glands, the testes also supply about 10%. Although widely used in androgen deprivation medical castration therapy, the effect of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) agonist on adrenal androgens has not been fully studied. In this study, changes in testicular and adrenal androgen levels were measured and compared to adrenocorticotropic hormone levels...

For nonobstructive azoospermic (NOA) patients with a normal karyotype or for Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY) patients, intracytoplasmic sperm injection is associated with an increased aneuploidy risk in offspring. We examined testicular cells from patients with different azoospermia etiologies to determine the origin of the aneuploid spermatozoa. The incidence of chromosome abnormalities was investigated in all types of azoospermia. Four study subgroups were constituted: Klinefelter patients (group 1), NOA patients with spermatogenesis failure but a normal karyotype (group 2), obstructive azoospermic patients with normal spermatogenesis (group 3), and control patients with normal sperm (group 4)...

Seminal oxidative stress occurs when there is an increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and/or a decrease of antioxidant activity, promoting impaired sperm function. Peroxiredoxins (PRDX) are abundant in human semen and are important antioxidant enzymes, which act as ROS scavengers and modulators in ROS-dependent signaling. Our aim was to determine whether the levels of PRDX1 and PRDX6 and their oxidation on thiol groups are associated with a decrease in sperm motility and DNA integrity. We evaluated the sperm and seminal PRDX level in men (13 healthy controls, 15 men with clinical varicocele, and 17 men with idiopathic infertility)...

Arginase expression and activity have been noted to be heightened in conditions associated with erectile dysfunction, including aging. Previously, arginase inhibition by chronic administration of the arginase inhibitor 2-(S)-amino-6-boronohexanoic acid (ABH) has been shown to improve endothelial dysfunction in aged rats. The objective of this study was to assess whether chronic oral ABH administration affects cavernosal erectile function. Rats were divided into 4 groups: young control, young treated with arginase inhibitor, aged control, and aged treated with arginase inhibitor...

Using phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors in patients with lower urinary tract symptoms continues to draw attention. Despite clinical improvements in patients, it is still debatable whether urinary flow rates are increased or not. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute effects of sildenafil, a PDE5 inhibitor, on uroflowmetry parameters. A total of 110 men who had applied to our outpatient clinics and who had had no history of alpha blocker and PDE5 inhibitor use were included in our study. Two uroflowmetries were performed within 24-72 hours without any treatment...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the blood concentrations of a new immunophenotype of circulating late endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) and endothelial microparticles (EMP) varies in patients with arterial erectile dysfunction (aED) and abnormalities in other arterial districts. To accomplish this, cavernous artery peak systolic velocity (PSV), acceleration time (AT), and intima-media thickness (IMT) were determined after intracavernous administration of alprostadil by echo-color Doppler in 80 consecutive patients (age range, 50-75 years)...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis, mycoplasmas, and ureaplasmas in semen samples of infertile compared with fertile men and to evaluate the seminological variables of semen from infected and noninfected men. A total of 127 infertile and 188 fertile men seen in a maternity hospital clinic were recruited into the study over a period of 14 months. Specimens were obtained by masturbation and examined for the presence of Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma genitalium, and C trachomatis by polymerase chain reaction...