Effects of testosterone treatment on anal sphincter damage repair in ovariectomized rats.

BACKGROUND: Fecal incontinence (FI) generally occurs with anal sphincter damage caused by vaginal delivery in women, obvious FI can develop in the postmenopausal stage. This pelvic floor dysfunction has no rational medical therapeutic options. We investigated the effect of testosterone treatment on the anal sphincter structure, serum thiol/disulfide levels, uterine tissue, and body composition in female rats in an experimental menopause-FI model. METHODS: The animal experiments were performed between September and November 2020 at Experimental Animal Application and Research Center, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. Thirty-two female rats were divided into four groups: sham, saline, 10 mg/kg testosterone undecanoate, 100 mg/kg testosterone undecanoate. Except for the sham group, all the other groups underwent ovariectomy (OVE) to create a menopause model. Two weeks after this procedure, the FI model was created under general anesthesia in all rat groups. At the end of the experiment, the rats were placed under general anesthesia, weighed, and euthanized after recording the data. The anal sphincter region and uterine tissue samples were collected for histopathological examinations, and blood samples were collected for total testosterone and thiol/disulfide homeostasis analyses. RESULTS: An increase in anal sphincter muscles and connective tissue thickness was observed in the testosterone-administered groups (p = 0.001). No difference was detected between the groups in the total thiol, native thiol, and disulfide balance (p = 0.087, p = 0.604, p = 0.092). The testosterone-treated groups did not have severe uterine epithelial degradation, hyperemia, or increased endometrial thickness (p = 0.186, p = 0.222, p = 0.630). The body weight of all rats increased (p < 0.05), but the omental weight did not increase (p = 0.061). DISCUSSION: Testosterone treatment increased the anal sphincter muscle and connective tissue thickness without causing any oxidative stress and did not result in a pathological change in the uterine tissue and body fat composition.

The evaluation of xenotransplantation of feline ovarian tissue vitrified by needle immersed vitrification technique into male immunodeficient mice.

In this study, the efficiency of the "Needle Immersed Vitrification" technique was tested on cryopreserved feline ovarian tissue. For vitrification, ovarian fragments (0.5-1.5 mm2) from each ovary were collected; the grafts were exposed to 7.5-15% ethylene glycol and 7.5-15% dimethyl sulfoxide at room temperature and stored in liquid nitrogen at least 1 week. Morphologic examinations, expression of genes such as B cell lymphoma 2, B-cell lymphoma-2-associated X protein, Bone morphogenetic protein 15, zone of polarizing activity, zona pellucida C protein and DNA (cytosine-5)-methyltransferase 1, ultrastructural analysis and viability tests were carried out from collected grafts. Light microscopy examinations revealed the percentage of morphologically normal primordial follicles in a fresh group which was significantly higher than the treatment groups (p < 0.001). Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling and anti-caspase-3 staining observed in oocytes, follicle cells, interstitial tissue showed higher rates of apoptosis for post-vitrification and -transplantation groups than freshly grafted ovarian tissues. Furthermore, we observed significant downregulation of zone of polarizing activity and zona pellucida C protein gene expression in vitrified ovarian tissue grafts than in the fresh grafts (p < 0.05). In conclusion, we suggest that the needle immersed vitrification method is a convenient, cheap, and feasible vitrification method for cat ovarian tissues. However, further studies need to be performed to determine more optimal vitrification solutions and equilibration times for the needle immersed vitrification method in order to adapt it for cat ovaries.

The effects of progesterone on the healing of obstetric anal sphincter damage in female rats.

We aimed to evaluate the effects of postpartum progesterone on obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASI) healing in female rats using an experimental OASI model. Twenty-eight female rats were divided into four groups after birth: sham-30, sham-90, progesterone (P4)-30, and P4-90. Moreover, OASI model was established in all groups. Subsequently, except for the sham groups, medroxyprogesterone acetate (0.15 mg) was intramuscularly injected into the P4 groups. After 30 and 90 days, the rats were euthanized under general anesthesia after recording the data. The anal sphincter region was collected for histopathological examination. Progesterone and thiol/disulfide homeostasis studies were performed on blood samples. No significant differences were observed between the groups regarding the external anal sphincter (EAS), internal anal sphincter (IAS), or connective tissue thickness (p = 0.714, p = 0.135, and p = 0.314, respectively). No statistically significant differences in the total thiol, native thiol, disulfide, and progesterone levels were found between the groups (p = 0.917, p = 0.503, p = 0.361, and p = 0.294, respectively). The endometrial thickness was lower in the P4 groups than in the sham groups (p = 0.031). Postpartum progesterone administration did not affect IAS and EAS or connective tissue thickness or disrupt the thiol-disulfide balance. However, this administration led to endometrial thinning.

Ovarian remnant syndrome and uterine stump pyometra in three queens.

Ovarian remnant syndrome (ORS) is the presence of functional ovarian tissue with signs of oestrus as a complication after ovariohysterectomy (OHE) or ovariectomy. Stump pyometra is another complication that can be observed after OHE. However, there are few reports about ORS and stump pyometra in queens. In this report, three queens with recurrent oestrous behaviours after OHE are described. In two queens, ORS with stump pyometra was diagnosed and in one queen ORS alone was diagnosed by physical examination, medical history, vaginal cytology and ultrasonography. Remnant ovarian and uterine tissues were removed by laparotomy. Two queens recovered without any complications; however, one queen died 2 days after surgery. This study reveals that ORS and stump pyometra can result in severe disease and can be fatal.