Testicular Injury - Consequences And Treatment

Scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the Leukaemia Research Institute of Uclaire (IRU), the institute of Medical Biotechnologies, Cibadi, and the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) carried out the first pharmacological study of a protein called SIRT1 that, in theory, could be used to overcome the painful and uncontrolled effects of testicular trauma.

Testicular trauma is one of the most common causes of neurological disorders in children. The scientists found that control of SIRT1 levels in the body was involved in the regeneration of tissue after a very painful trauma. To date, the precise mechanisms causing this reorganisation have remained largely unexplained.


In the current study, which is carried out in collaboration with colleagues from Birmingham in the U.K., researchers on a single biobank of 1,300 Swiss men who have suffered injury to testes in a transexual fashion and where the subject has either undergone a testicular bone fracture or renal injury, the scientists assessed the levels of SIRT1 in the blood using preclinical models. They found that the levels of the protein increased during the acute phase, of which 40-60% the subjects had a chronic stage and of which 80-90% had a reduced level. The experimental dice were then repeated with identical subjects whose injuries took place in diverse anatomical locations. Data analysis suggested that SIRT1 levels were also increased in repair-prone regions of the testes.


The discovery also has important implications, considering that even if a severe testicular injury appears to have been a fluke, it can be easily caused by trauma or because the testes are not fully open to whatever injury agent the man actually got hold of. For the first time, consistent with previous evidence, SIRT1 levels in the blood were also found to be significantly reduced in the testes upon penetration of immune cells. The researchers hope that their study may eventually be the determining factor in determining results of various clinical trials that are currently underway to support research aimed at overcoming the painful and disabling effects of leg and foot trauma.

Àthymos Arsenault, a researcher at the University of Geneva, who supervised the research, says: 'Although effective treatments can be found for patients suffering from traumatic injuries, they are not always feasible due to the duration required to restore blood circulation. In this context, central aspects in forensic medicine, biomedical engineering and neurology are of great importance.'