ABSTRACT
Objective@#To explore the feasibility, safety and clinical effect of mid-frequency transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) combined with oral tamoxifen (TAM) in the treatment of oligoasthenozoospermia.@*METHODS@#We randomly and equally assigned 120 patients with idiopathic oligoasthenozoospermia to receive oral TAM, mid-frequency TEAS, or TAM+TEAS, all for 8 weeks. Before and after treatment, we recorded the semen volume, total sperm count, sperm concentration, sperm motility, percentage of progressively motile sperm (PMS), and the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteotrophic hormone (LH) and testosterone (T) in the peripheral serum and compared these parameters among the three groups of patients.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the baseline, none of the patients showed significant improvement in the semen volume (P >0.05) but all exhibited remarkably elevated levels of serum FSH, LH and T after treatment (P 0.05) or PMS (［15.87 ± 7.81］ vs ［16.76 ± 5.86］ %, P >0.05); TEAS markedly increased total sperm motility (［24.81 ± 8.27］ vs ［32.43 ± 4.97］ %, P 0.05) or sperm concentration (［11.27 ± 2.24］ vs ［14.12 ± 2.47］ ×10⁶/ml, P >0.05); TAM+TEAS, however, improved not only the total sperm count (［26.17 ± 5.05］ vs ［ 51.14 ± 3.69］×106, P <0.05) and sperm concentration (［12.78 ± 2.41］ vs ［27.28 ± 1.98］ ×10⁶/ml, P <0.05), but also total sperm motility (［23.89 ± 9.05］ vs ［37.12 ± 5.33］%, P <0.05) and PMS (［17.14 ± 8.04］ vs ［31.09 ± 7.12］%, P <0.05). The total effectiveness rate was significantly higher in the TAM+TEAS group than in the TAM and TEAS groups (97.5% vs 72.5% and 75.0%, P <0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Mid-frequency TEAS combined with tamoxifen can significantly improve semen quality and increase sex hormone levels in patients with idiopathic oligoasthenozoospermia.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Acupuncture Points , Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal , Therapeutic Uses , Asthenozoospermia , Blood , Therapeutics , Combined Modality Therapy , Methods , Electroacupuncture , Methods , Feasibility Studies , Follicle Stimulating Hormone , Blood , Oligospermia , Blood , Therapeutics , Prolactin , Blood , Semen Analysis , Sperm Count , Sperm Motility , Tamoxifen , Therapeutic Uses , Testosterone , BloodABSTRACT
In this study, one immortalized human normal prostatic epithelial cell line (BPH) and four human prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP, 22Rv1, PC-3, and DU-145) were treated with Ganoderma Lucidum triterpenoids (GLT) at different doses and for different time periods. Cell viability, apoptosis, and cell cycle were analyzed using flow cytometry and chemical assays. Gene expression and binding to DNA were assessed using real-time PCR and Western blotting. It was found that GLT dose-dependently inhibited prostate cancer cell growth through induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G1 phase. GLT-induced apoptosis was due to activation of Caspases-9 and -3 and turning on the downstream apoptotic events. GLT-induced cell cycle arrest (mainly G1 arrest) was due to up-regulation of p21 expression at the early time and down-regulation of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) and E2F1 expression at the late time. These findings demonstrate that GLT suppresses prostate cancer cell growth by inducing growth arrest and apoptosis, which might suggest that GLT or Ganoderma Lucidum could be used as a potential therapeutic drug for prostate cancer.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic , Pharmacology , Apoptosis , Caspase 3 , Genetics , Metabolism , Caspase 9 , Genetics , Metabolism , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Survival , Cyclin D1 , Genetics , Metabolism , Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4 , Genetics , Metabolism , Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21 , Genetics , Metabolism , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , E2F1 Transcription Factor , Genetics , Metabolism , G1 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints , Genetics , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Nucleosomes , Metabolism , Pathology , Plant Extracts , Chemistry , Prostate , Metabolism , Pathology , Reishi , Chemistry , Signal Transduction , Triterpenes , PharmacologyABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the clinical value of Paroxetine combined with mid-frequency electrical pulse acupoint stimulation (EPAS) in the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 69 PE patients were equally assigned to receive oral Paroxetine 20 mg/d, mid-frequency EPAS, or oral Paroxetine 10 mg/d combined with mid-frequency EPAS (P + EPAS) , all for 8 weeks. We obtained the intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) and Chinese Index of Premature Ejaculation (CIPE-5) scores of the patients before and after treatment, and compared adverse reactions among the three groups of patients.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>One patient of the Paroxetine group gave up treatment because of abdominal pain and nausea. Compared with the baseline, the patients in the Paroxetine, EPAS, and P + EPAS groups all showed markedly increased IELT ([0.92 ± 0.11] vs [4.07 ± 0.11] min, P < 0.01; [0.92 ± 0.12] VS [2.78 ± 0.17] min P < 0.05; [0.91 ± 0.09] vs [5.31 ± 0.13], P < 0.01) and decreased CIPE-5 scores (12.5 ± 3.0 vs 22.0 ± 2.1, P < 0.01; 12.8 ± 2.9 vs 19.5 ± 1.9, P > 0.05; 13.1 ± 2.8 vs 25.2 ± 2.1, P 0.01), with statistically significant differences between the P + EPAS group and the other two (P < 0.05). The total effectiveness rate was 95.7% in the P + EPAS group, remarkably higher than in the Paroxetine (72.7%, P < 0.05) and the EPAS group (47.8, P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Oral Paroxetine combined with mid-frequency EPAS has a higher safety and efficacy than either Paroxetine or EPAS alone in the treatment of PE.</p>