Does intratesticular testosterone administration modify the evolution of transitory testicular ischemia in pre-pubertal rats?
PURPOSE: Testicular torsion followed by ischemia results in variable degrees of infertility and until now there appears to be no effective way to recover it. Testosterone participation in the maintenance of male sexual organs and spermatogenesis led us to hypothesize that intratesticular administration could recover ischemic injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We divided 40 Wistar rats in 2 groups, of 20 each. One group was control and the other underwent a 120-minute testicular ischemia by means of a vascular clamp on the left spermatic cord. Each group was further subdivided in 2 subgroups. The first one was observed and the second received intratesticular testosterone 25 mg. starting on the third day after injury and during the next 7 consecutive days. Half the animals were sacrificed 30 days after injury and the remaining ones after 60 days. Weight, volume, number of seminiferous tubules, histology and spermatogenesis of the same side and contralateral testes were examined. For statisti
