The defensive role of taurine against gonadotoxicity and testicular apoptosis effects induced by cisplatin in rats.

INTRODUCTION: Cisplatin (CIS), which is used as a therapeutic antineoplastic agent may produce gonadotoxicity in a process linked to chemotherapy. Taurine, through its potential antioxidant effect, has a protective role against cisplatin-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether taurine intake can ameliorate testicular damage induced by cisplatin and to study the possible mechanism that mediates this action, either through its antioxidant action alone or in addition to its anti-apoptotic effects. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty healthy adult white male albino rats were randomly distributed into five groups, each involving ten animals. The first group represents the negative control group. The other four groups received three equal doses (3 mg/kg body weight) intraperitoneal injections of cisplatin on alternate days. In the positive control group (group 2), saline only was given. Groups 3, 4 &5 received taurine in distilled water at oral doses of 50, 150, 250 mg/kg, respectively, on alternate days followed by cisplatin (each injection of cisplatin was given 1 day after taurine). On the 28th day after the first dose of normal saline, cisplatin or taurine, blood samples were examined for testosterone levels. All rats were killed and their testes were examined. RESULTS: Rats treated with cisplatin alone showed reduced body weight in addition to reduced testicular weight, impaired sperm counts, and oxidative stress (reduced GSH, increased MDA level), decreased plasma testosterone, apoptotic marker (increased Bax, decreased bcl2). However following taurine induction, the figures for GSH and MDA changed significantly (P < 0.005) referring to the effect of taurine as a potent antioxidant. CONCLUSIONS: Cisplatin-induced germ cell apoptosis may result in decreasing spermatogenesis. However, taurine could effectively prevent nearly all of these cisplatin-induced testicular abnormalities, thereby proving to be an effective cytoprotectant.

The Predictive Value of Arteriogenic Erectile Dysfunction for Coronary Artery Disease in Men.

BACKGROUND: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is assumed to be connected with vascular disease caused by endothelial dysfunction, and characterized by the incapability of the smooth muscle cells lining the arterioles to relax, therefore, inhibit vasodilatation. AIM: To assess the predictive value of arteriogenic ED for coronary artery disease in men above the age of 40 years. METHODS: 75 Patients reporting arteriogenic ED and 25 men with normal erectile function were enrolled in the study. Both patients and controls were subjected to the following investigations: lipid profile, fasting blood sugar, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, penile duplex study, stress electrocardiography (ECG) test, International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) Type 5 (Arabic version), and cardiovascular (CV) 10-year risk assessment using Framingham and Prospective Cardiovascular Münster (PROCAM) scoring systems. OUTCOMES: We compare between the study groups regarding the interpretation of exercise testing. RESULTS: We observed significant increase in the mean value of age, systolic blood pressure, BMI, weight, height, and waist circumference in the cases; significant prevalence of obesity and overweight in the cases (P < .001); significant increase in the mean value of total cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), and low-density lipoprotein; and decrease in mean value of high-density lipoprotein in the cases (P < .001). Additionally, there was high incidence of positive stress ECG in the cases (25.3%) vs that in controls (12%), and significant difference between patients with positive stress ECG test and those with negative stress ECG test regarding their lipid profile, age, BMI, and waist circumference with higher values in positive stress ECG for total cholesterol, TG, and low-density lipoprotein, and lower value for high-density lipoprotein (P < .001). According to PROCAM and Framingham scoring systems 10-year risk assessment, there was a high significant difference between the cases and control groups with a higher score in cases than the control group with 30.7% of cases having ≥ 30% risk of developing coronary heart disease, and significant positive correlations between CV risk and BMI, and negative correlations with IIEF-5 cases (P < .001). CLINICAL TRANSLATION: Ischemic heart disease events were higher in men with documented arteriogenic ED than those without ED. CONCLUSIONS: All items of metabolic syndrome were investigated and analyzed and we evaluated our groups using both PROCAM and Framingham scoring system. An exercise ECG is suggested before starting treatment of vasculogenic ED at least in patients with CV risk factors. Azab SS, Hosni HED, El Far TA, et al. The Predictive Value of Arteriogenic Erectile Dysfunction for Coronary Artery Disease in Men. J Sex Med 2018;15:880-887.