Objective To investigate, in a rat model, whether methylene blue (a free-ra
dical scavenger) is effective in alleviating the histological testicular da
mage caused by reperfusion after spermatic cord torsion.
Materials and methods Male Wistar rats underwent a clockwise 720 degrees le
ft spermatic cord torsion lasting 3 h; they were then randomly assigned to
treatment and control groups. Ln the treated group, 2 mg/kg methylene blue
was injected intraperitoneally 20 min before the cord was untwisted, and an
additional 1 mg/kg injected into the penile vein 1-2 min beforehand. After
14 days, the left testicle was removed and assessed histologically. The co
ntrol group was not treated.
Results Thirty-three rats in the treatment group and 35 untreated controls
were suitable for evaluation. Treatment with methylene blue was not signifi
cantly predictive of histological damage; the colour of the testis before d
etorsion was not correlated with histological damage.
Conclusion Anti-oxidant treatment with methylene blue had no palliative eff
ect on the histological changes after torsion and detorsion of the spermati
c cord in this rat model.