[Comprehensive therapy of traditional Chinese medicine for erectile dysfunction with damp-heat stasis: A clinical observation of 103 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical effect and safety of comprehensive therapy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) with damp-heat stasis. METHODS: We selected 108 cases of ED with damp-heat stasis meeting the inclusion criteria and treated with tadalafil (the control group, n = 54) or tadalafil + comprehensive TCM therapy (the trial group, n = 54) in the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine in the same period. After 8 weeks of treatment, we recorded the patients' scores on IIEF-5, TCM syndrome, erectile quality (EQS), 9-Item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Scale 7 (GAD-7). At 16 weeks of our study, we collected the efficacy parameters, safety indicators and adverse reactions by telephone follow-up and compared the data obtained between the two groups of patients. RESULTS: Totally, 103 of the patients completed the study, 51 in the control and 52 in the trial group. Compared with the baseline, the IIEF-5 and EQS scores were both markedly increased after 8 weeks of treatment in the trial group (12.35±3.00 vs 18.36±2.82, P< 0.05; 39.5 ï¼»30.25－43ï¼½ vs 67.5 ï¼»54.5－76.75ï¼½, P< 0.05) and the control (11.96±2.79 vs 15.88±3.86, P< 0.05; 38.0 ï¼»29－42ï¼½ vs 56 ï¼»49－64ï¼½, P< 0.05), even more significantly in the former than in the latter (P< 0.05); the TCM syndrome and GAD-7 scores were remarkably decreased in the trial (9.5 ï¼»8－12ï¼½ vs 4.0 ï¼»2.25－5ï¼½, P< 0.05; 5 ï¼»2.25－6.75ï¼½ vs 2.5 ï¼»1－4.75ï¼½, P< 0.05) and the control group (10.0 ï¼»8－12ï¼½ vs 5.0 ï¼»3－6ï¼½, P< 0.05; 5.0 ï¼»3－6ï¼½ vs 4.0 ï¼»2－5ï¼½, P< 0.05), even more significantly in the former than in the latter (P< 0.05), so were the PHQ-9 scores (P< 0.05), but with no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). The IIEF-5 scores of the two groups remained significantly higher than the baseline during the follow-up (P< 0.05), even higher in the trial than in the control group (17.04±2.60 vs 14.16±3.34, P< 0.05). No obvious abnormal safety indicators or adverse events were observed during the study. CONCLUSION: Comprehensive TCM therapy combined with tadalafil is superior to tadalafil alone in the treatment of ED with damp-heat stasis, and has a better long-term efficacy and a higher safety.

[Yishen Tongluo Prescription for repairing benzo(a)pyrene-induced sperm DNA damage in male rats: Effect and mechanism].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the repairing effect of Yishen Tongluo Prescription (YTP) on sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) in male rats exposed to benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) and its possible mechanism. METHODS: Thirty Wistar male rats were equally randomized into a blank control, a BaP-exposure and a YTP intervention group, those in the latter two groups exposed to BaP at 20 mg/kg/d for 60 consecutive days, and those in the YTP intervention group treated intragastrically with YTP from the 31st day of BaP exposure for a total of 30 days. After the last administration, the sperm DFI of the rats was detected by sperm chromatin structure analysis, the levels of FSH, LH and T in the serum and superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the testis were measured by ELISA. RESULTS: Compared with the blank controls, the rats in the BaP-exposure group showed significantly increased DFI ( ï¼»4.23 ± 1.40ï¼½% vs ï¼»12.46 ± 3.07ï¼½%, P < 0.05), serum FSH (ï¼»1.76 ± 0.31ï¼½ vs ï¼»2.53 ± 0.28ï¼½ U/L, P < 0.05) and LH (ï¼»30.59 ± 2.14ï¼½ vs ï¼»39.72 ± 2.80ï¼½ U/L, P < 0.05), decreased levels of serum T (ï¼»5.33 ± 0.43ï¼½ vs ï¼»4.42 ± 0.38ï¼½ nmol/L, P < 0.05) and testicular SOD (ï¼»166.18 ± 3.74ï¼½ vs ï¼»113.23 ± 10.76ï¼½ U/ml, P < 0.05) and ATP (ï¼»41.23 ± 2.21ï¼½ vs ï¼»33.48 ± 2.74ï¼½ mol/L, P < 0.05), and elevated contents of MDA (ï¼»7.55 ± 0.93ï¼½ vs ï¼»10.59 ± 1.17ï¼½ nmol/ml, P < 0.05) and NO (ï¼»44.23±4.47ï¼½ vs ï¼»54.49 ± 3.13ï¼½ mol/L, P < 0.05). All the above parameters returned to normal after YTP intervention (DFI: ï¼»5.73 ± 2.46ï¼½%, FSH: ï¼»2.07 ± 0.45ï¼½ U/L, LH: ï¼»33.94 ± 4.44ï¼½ U/L, T: ï¼»4.96 ± 0.24ï¼½ nmol/L, SOD: ï¼»135.22 ± 7.26ï¼½ U/ml, ATP: ï¼»38.26 ± 2.14ï¼½ mol/L, MDA: ï¼»8.37 ± 1.29ï¼½ nmol/ml, NO: ï¼»48.36 ± 3.98ï¼½ mol/L), with statistically significant difference from those in the BaP-exposure group (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Yishen Tongluo Prescription can repair BaP-induced sperm DNA damage in male rats, which may be attributed to its effects of suppressing oxidative damage.