Influence of Experimental Spermatic Cord Torsion on the Contralateral Testis in Rats

Abstract

To evaluate the degree of ischemia formation in the contralateral testicle following unilateral testicular torsion, free oxygen radical formation after detorsion or an orchiectomy procedure in terms of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase activities was detected in adult male Wistar rats. Animals were divided into 4 groups and following 2 and 6 h of unilateral torsion, the orchiectomy or detorsion procedures were performed and free radical scavenger enzyme activities (SOD, catalase) were measured in the contralateral testes after 24 h, 1 week and 1 month. Evaluation of our results revealed no meaningful ischemia formation in the contralateral testes of rats undergoing 2 h of unilateral testicular torsion. However, animals undergoing 6 h of unilateral testicular torsion demonstrated a statistically significant alteration with respect to enzyme concentrations. Alterations in the contralateral testes were more prominent in animals that had undergone the detorsion procedure following 6 h of testicular torsion. Our results indicate that preservation of twisted testes through a detorsion procedure could cause further deterioration by way of reperfusion injury, indicating the importance of removal of the damaged testicle to minimize long-term histopathologic alterations in the contralateral testes.

Testicular torsion and its effects on the spermatogenic cycle in the contralateral testis of the rat

“…Sertoli cells express SOD, and pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids express even higher levels of SOD (Saba et al 1997). In agreement with these observations, the morphological changes due to testicular torsion mainly occurring in stages VI-XI and their cellular elements could be associated with a decrease in SOD levels in the contralateral testis (Sarica et al 1997). Several studies have shown that applying substances to prevent the formation of oxygen free radicals or scavenging them before testicular detorsion, signi cantly diminishes damage in the contralateral testis (Akgür et al 1994b, Vigueras et al 1998.…”

The protective effect of L-arginine, tadalafil, and their combination in rat testes after ischemia and reperfusion injury

“…[23][24][25] There are also several studies that report no effect of testicular torsion on contralateral testis. 25,26 ROS over production, inflammatory response, and lipid peroxidation are important steps in I/R injury.…”

Unilateral Testicular Torsion: Protective Effect of Verapamil on Contralateral Testicular Histology

“…Taking all these findings into account, alterations in the contralateral blood flow may play a part in contralateral testicular damage. In our recent experimental study [15], we were able to show contralateral testicular ischemia formation in terms of free radical scavenger enzyme utilization. Thus, contralateral testicular ischemia secondary to unilateral torsion may accelerate abnormal histologic findings, and ischemia resulting in formation of oxygen free radicals could be responsible for such definite histologic alterations.…”