Diabetes mellitus is a known cause of infertility and erectile dysfunction in men. Sildenafil citrate, used in the management of the latter, has been implicated of toxic role on the testis. This paradoxical impression is significant in diabetic men with erectile dysfunction that are of reproductive age. Histo-morphometric effects of sildenafil citrate was thus, investigated for eight weeks on the testes of twenty-five adult Wistar rats, weighed before and after the experiment and categorized into four treatment groups and one control group of five rats per group (n=5). The control group (A) received feed mash and water ad libitum. Treatment groups B and C (normoglycaemic) received low dose (1mg/kg body weight) and high dose (2mg/kg body weight) of sildenafil citrate, respectively. Groups D and E ( hyperglycaemic) were treated with low dose (1 mg/kg body weight) and high dose (2 mg/kg body weight) of sildenafil citrate, respectively. Blood samples were collected for hormonal assay and the testes were excised and processed for morpholological changes. The results showed significant (P<0.05) loss in body and testicular weight in the hyperglycaemic groups, but insignificant (P>0.05) body weight gain in the normoglycaemic groups and insignificant (P>0.05) epididymal weight difference in all the treatment groups, compared to control. The hormone assay showed significant (P<0.05) difference in the levels of FSH, LH, testosterone and oestrogen in the hyperglycaemic groups compared to control. Testicular and epididymal tissues revealed mild distortions in hyperglycaemic treatments but with dose dependent improvement, while the changes in the normoglycaemic treatments were essentially non-remarkable. The results suggest relative safety of sildenafil citrate in normoglycaemic and hyperglycaemic states, with dose-dependent beneficial testicular effects in the latter condition.
Keywords: Hyperglycaemia, Normoglycaemia, Sildenafil Citrate, Wistar rats, testis
