The effects of diabetes mellitus, age, and vitamin E on testicular oxidative stress

ObjectiveTo examine the effects of age and/or diabetes on oxidative stress and steroidogenesis, and the protective effect of vitamin E in testis tissue.DesignControlled experimental study.SettingPamukkale University School of Medicine animal facility.Animal(s)Male Wistar rats divided into six groups with six animals in each group: young control; young diabetic; young diabetic with vitamin E treatment; aged control; aged diabetic; and aged diabetic with vitamin E treatment.Intervention(s)Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg streptozotocin and was confirmed by testing blood glucose levels 5 to 7 days after injection. Vitamin E was administered orally for 6 weeks.Main Outcome Measure(s)Serum testosterone and tissue malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH) levels were measured, and testis tissue was examined histopathologically.Result(s)Elevated malondialdehyde and reduced superoxide dismutase, glutathione, and serum testosterone levels were detected only in the young and aged-diabetic groups. Histopathologic change was not detected in the testis tissue in any of the groups.Conclusion(s)Age does not alter the effects of diabetes-induced free radical damage in testis tissue; improvement in this damage can be achieved by vitamin E treatment.