Does sildenafil have protective effects against ovarian ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats?

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective activity of sildenafil treatment against ischemia-reperfusion damage created experimentally in rat ovaries.

METHODS: For this study, 42 female Wistar rats were used, and the rats were separated randomly into six groups consisting of seven rats each: sham, torsion, torsion-detorsion, torsion-detorsion + saline, torsion-detorsion + sildenafil 0.7 mg/kg and torsion-detorsion + sildenafil 1.4 mg/kg. With the exception of the sham group, an ovarian torsion procedure was implemented in all other groups for 2 h. Then, a detorsion procedure was implemented to the groups for 2 h, with the exception of the torsion group. Medications were given intraperitoneally, one-half hour before the detorsion procedure in the saline, 0.7 and 1.4 mg/kg sildenafil groups. Finally, 2 ml of blood samples was drawn for markers of oxidative stress, while the ovaries which were torsioned for the histological examination were extracted from all rats.

RESULTS: According to the histopathological damage scores, the least damage was seen in the sham group and the most damage was seen in the torsion-detorsion group. The sildenafil treatment appeared to be effective in decreasing tissue damage; however, there were no differences between the dosages. Additionally, it was determined that the oxidative stress levels were higher in the torsion-detorsion group, while the sildenafil treatment caused a significant decrease in the oxidative stress levels.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current study showed that the sildenafil treatment can be effective in preventing tissue damage and oxidative stress induced by the ischemia-reperfusion created in rat ovaries.