Protective effect of curcumin on priapism and ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify the oxidative stress effects of the ischemic priapism on cavernosal tissues and to assess the biochemical and histopathological effects of curcumin in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 26 adult male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups. Group 1 (Control, n = 8): only penectomy was performed and 3 ml blood samples were obtained from the vena cava inferior (VCI). Group 2 (ischemia-reperfusion group; n= 8): penectomy was performed after 1 hour ischemic priapism + 30 min reperfusion and 3 ml blood samples were obtained from the VCI. Group III (IR + CURC group, n = 10): 200 mg/kg/day curcumin per orally before surgery for 7 days + penectomy after 1 hour ischemic priapism + 30 min reperfusion and 3 ml blood samples from the VCI. Total oxidant status (TAS), total antioxidant status (TAS) and paraoxonase (PON1) levels were measured. Tissue samples were investigated and scored histopathologically in terms of bleeding, edema and necrosis. RESULTS: TOS levels were higher (p = 0.002), and TAS levels were lower (p = 0.001) in the IR group compared to the control group. As a result of curcumin treatment, TAS levels were increased (p = 0.003), and TOS levels were decreased (p = 0.004) in the IR + CURC group compared to the IR group. In the treatment group (IR + CURC) TAS and TOS levels were similar to levels in the control group. PON1 levels were increased with ischemia-reperfusion (p = 0.21) and decreased with curcumin treatment (p = 0.53), however these changes were not statistically significant. There was no significant difference in the effects of curcumin on histopathological changes. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that curcumin has preventive effects on oxidative stress parameters against ischemia-reperfusion injury.

No evidence of depression, anxiety, and sexual dysfunction following penile fracture.

There is a gap in the literature about psychological status of patients following penile fracture surgery. We aimed to assess the long-term psychological status of penile fracture patients who have been treated by immediate surgical repair. A total of 32 patients with penile fracture have been treated surgically at our center. These 32 patients and 30 healthy control subjects were included in the study. All participants have completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Glombok-Rust Inventory of Satisfaction Scale (GRISS), and the premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT). The mean age of patients was 30.4 years and the mean body mass index was 27.3 kg m(-2). Sexual intercourse was the most common cause of the fracture. Immediate surgical repair was performed in all cases using a circumferential subcoronal incision and none of the patients had urethral injury intraoperatively. All tears were unilateral with a mean size of 1.5 cm. Only two patients had superficial dorsal vein rupture. At the day of assessment, the mean time elapsed after penile trauma was 15.9±6.3 months (range: 6-23). Only three patients had complications due to penile fracture including minimal penile curvature, penile nodule, and penile pain during intercourse. The mean scores obtained from PEDT, HADS, and GRISS did not show any statistically significant difference between groups. Anxiety, depression, premature ejaculation, and sexual dyssatisfaction levels were similar in both penile fracture patients who underwent immediate surgical repair and healthy control subjects. Immediate surgical repair of corporal ruptures have not shown any harmful psychogenic sequelae on patients with penile fracture.

Relationship between penile size and somatometric parameters in 2276 healthy young men.

The aim of this study was to determine the average penile length of a group of healthy, young Turkish men, and to investigate the relationship between penile length and somatometric parameters in the same group. The flaccid and stretched length and circumference of the penis was measured in a group of 2276 physically normal, young men. The correlation between penile length and weight, height and body mass index (BMI) of the participants was determined by Pearson's analysis. The mean age of the participants was 21.1 ± 3.1 (18-39) years. The mean flaccid, fully stretched and circumferential length of the participants' penises were 8.95 ± 1.04, 13.98 ± 1.58 and 8.89 ± 0.86 cm, respectively. There was a significant relationship between all of these variables (P<0.01). Although weak positive correlations were found between the mean circumference length and BMI, there were no correlations between both the flaccid and stretched lengths and BMI. The penile length must be known to be able to determine the abnormal penile sizes and to make convenient decisions in the counseling and/or treatment of people with short penis concerns. Our study provides mean penile lengths in a large sample of healthy, young Turkish men, and the penile dimensions were found to be weakly correlated with somatometric parameters.