M. Saba et al., MORPHOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL-CHANGES FOLLOWING ACUTE UNILATERAL TESTICULAR TORSION IN PREPUBERTAL RATS, The Journal of urology, 157(3), 1997, pp. 1149-1154
Purpose: The role played by reactive oxygen species in the effects of
testicular torsion and torsion/detorsion on ipsilateral and contralate
ral testis was investigated. Materials and Methods: Prepubertal rats w
ere submitted to unilateral testicular torsion alone or followed by de
torsion for up to 1 week. Morphology and biochemical parameters (thiob
arbituric reactive substances, superoxide dismutase-like and catalase-
like activities) were evaluated. Results: Torsion (1 or 2 h) alone ind
uced time-dependent morphological damages that worsened progressively
after detorsion in ipsilateral testis but had no effect on contralater
al testis, The levels of antioxidants against the superoxide anion and
hydrogen peroxide decreased in ipsilateral but not in contralateral t
estis. However, the level of thiobarbituric reactive substances (an in
dicator of lipid perioxidation) decreased after testicular torsion or
torsion/detorsion in both testes. Conclusion: These data emphasize tha
t oxidative stress may play a role in testicular damage caused by tors
ion/detorsion and that biochemical indicators of oxidative stress are
more sensitive than histological techniques in detecting modifications
in the contralateral testis.