Propofol, which is widely used as an
intravenous anesthetic, has been shown to have an
antioxidant activity on several tissues. This study was designed to investigate the prevention of
reperfusion injury with
propofol after
testicular torsion. Five groups of rats (seven in each group) were used. Animals in the control group (group I) did not received any treatment, while animals in the
sham group (group II) underwent scrotal incision and testicular fixation only. After 2 h of 720 degrees left
testicular torsion in groups III, IV and V, subsequent detorsion was done for 2 h in groups IV and V.
Propofol (50 mg/kg) was injected transperitoneally 30 min prior to detorsion in group V. Both testicles in all rats were retrieved and tissue malondialdeyhde (MDA) level, which is a measure of the amount of free
oxygen radicals, and enzymatic activity of
xanthine oxidase (XO), which converts
hypoxanthine to
xanthine and
uric acid were studied. In addition, tissue
catalase (CAT) and
glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities, which are endogenous scavenger
enzymes, protecting tissues against
free radicals, were studied. Additionally, histological evaluations were performed after
hematoxylin and
eosin staining. Testicular MDA levels, and XO and CAT activities were higher in the torsion group compared to
sham control group (P<0.05). Detorsion caused a further increase in MDA levels, contrasting with a decrease in the levels of XO activity, while CAT activity was not changed. Pretreatment with
propofol prevented a further increase in MDA levels and significantly decreased CAT activity following detorsion. GSH-Px activities were not effected either by torsion/detorsion or
propofol pretreatment. Histologically, torsion caused some separation between germinal cells in the seminiferous tubules, which became much more prominent in the detorsion group and attenuated with
propofol pretreatment. There was no significant change in any of the above-mentioned enzymatic activities nor were there histopathological changes in the contralateral testicle in any groups. It is concluded that biochemically and histologically
reperfusion injury occurs in the ipsilateral testis following detorsion up to 2 h. Preference of
propofol for anaesthesia during the detorsion procedure may attenuate such
reperfusion injury.