Impact of deep slow-wave sleep deprivation on oxidative stress response of the testis tissue in rats / 中华男科学杂志

Objective@#To investigate the influence of deep slow-wave sleep deprivation on the oxidative stress of testicular tissue in rats.@*METHODS@#Thirty-six 5-week-old male Wistar rats were equally randomized into deep slow-wave sleep deprivation group (SD1), deep slow-wave sleep and duration sleep deprivation group ( SD2), and a cage control group (CC). The rat model of deep slow-wave sleep deprivation was established using the flowerpot technique. The rats in the SD1 group were interfered every 24 minutes and deprived of 12 hours of sleep at night, those in the SD2 group deprived of 8 minutes of sleep at an interval of 24 minutes and 12 hours of sleep at night, and those in the CC group exposed to 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. After 28 days, all the rats were executed for measurement of the testis volume and protein content, determination of the methane dicarboxylic aldehyde (MDA) level and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and observation of the pathological changes in the testicular tissue under the microscope.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the CC group, the rats in the SD1 and SD2 groups showed significantly reduced body weight (［268.5 ± 1.6］ vs ［248.1 ± 25.1］and［232.9 ± 10.1］g, P0.05). The lumens in the testis were narrowed, with obvious hyperplasia, hyperemia and edema in the peripheral interstitial tissue, but no significant pathologic changes were observed in the testis tissue of the SD1 group.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Long-term deprivation of deep slow-wave sleep impairs the structure of the testis tissue and induces oxidative stress response in rats.

Pulsed magnetic fields accelerate cutaneous wound healing in rats.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies of pulsed magnetic fields have reported enhanced fracture and chronic wound healing, endothelial cell growth, and angiogenesis. This study characterizes the biomechanical changes that occur when standard cutaneous wounds are exposed to radiofrequency pulsed magnetic fields with specific dosage parameters, in an attempt to determine whether return to functional tensile strength could be accelerated in wound healing. METHODS: There were two study phases and a total of 100 rats. In phase 1, wounds were exposed to a 1.0-G pulsed magnetic field signal in clinical use for wound repair for 30 minutes twice daily for 21 or 60 days. Phase 2 was a prospective, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial in which rats were treated for 30 minutes twice daily with three different low-amplitude signals (0.02 to 0.05 G), configured assuming a Ca binding transduction pathway, for 21 days. A midline, 8-cm, linear skin incision was made on the rat dorsum. Tensile strength was determined by measuring the point of rupture of the wound on a standard tensiometer loaded at 0.45 mm/second. RESULTS: The mean tensile strength of treated groups in phase 1 was 48 percent (p < 0.001) greater than that of controls at 21 days; there was no significant difference at 60 days. In phase 2, the treated groups showed 18 percent (not significant), 44 percent, and 59 percent (p < 0.001) increases in tensile strength over controls at 21 days. CONCLUSION: The authors successfully demonstrated that exposing wounds to pulsed magnetic fields of very specific configurations accelerated early wound healing in this animal model, as evidenced by significantly increased wound tensile strength at 21 days after wounding.

Pulsed magnetic fields applied to a transferred arterial loop support the rat groin composite flap.

Pulsed magnetic fields have been shown to stimulate neovascularization in the authors' laboratory. The rat groin composite flap was used to create a prospective randomized trial to test the effectiveness of these pulsed magnetic fields. The skin paddle to this flap is highly consistent, and the authors proposed using the flap to study how pulsed magnetic fields affect composite flap survival when the dominant vessel to the flap is divided and flap survival becomes dependent on a transferred vessel loop. Forty-three rats had the tail artery microsurgically anastomosed to the femoral artery and placed between the groin musculature and the abdominal skin. Pulsed magnetic energy of 1 gauss was applied for 8 (n = 14) or 12 (n = 8) weeks to the experimental groups. Control groups were treated in a comparable manner for 8 (n = 16) or 12 (n = 5) weeks. After the 8 or 12 weeks, all groups had an 8 x 4-cm skin flap raised, and the superficial epigastric artery, the main feeding vessel, was ligated. After 5 days, the total area of the flap and the area of necrosis were traced onto velum paper for each rat. The percent survival was calculated per rat, and a mean survival percentage was calculated per group. The experimental animals treated with pulsed magnetic fields for 8 weeks had statistically significant improved flap survival over the control animals. The study provides evidence that pulsed magnetic energy stimulates angiogenesis and suggests a possible use of this modality to create island vascular flaps in otherwise random vascular territories.

Manageable microsurgical technique for creating an opening in small vessels for end-to-side anastomosis.

The end-to-side anastomosis is one of the most useful techniques in microsurgery. It creates a recipient opening for the donor, keeps the donor vessel intact, and does not interrupt distal blood flow, compared to the end-to-end anastomosis technique. The end-to-side anastomosis is consequently becoming more acceptable in reconstructive microsurgery. The author describes a manageable microsurgical technique for creating recipient vessel openings in small vessels for end-to-side anastomoses.