[Experimental Study for the Treatment of Asthenozoospermia by Electroacupuncture in Rats].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effects of different electroacupuncture (EA) parameters for the treatment of asthenozoospermia in rats.

METHODS

One hundred and five male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 2 Hz-EA treatment daily in 3 d group (=9), sham-EA group (=10), model group (=10); 2 Hz-EA treatment every other day in 5 d group, sham-EA group, model group (8 rats in each group); 2 Hz-EA treatment every other day in 9 d group, sham-EA group, model group (10 rats in each group); 100 Hz-EA treatment every other day in 9 d group (=7), sham-EA group (=8), model group (=7). Asthenozoospermia model was established by intragastric administration of ornidazole (ORN,400 mg·kg·d) once daily till the end of treatment. EA treatments (2 Hz or 100 Hz) were applied to "Shenshu" (BL 23,bilateral), "Zusanli" (ST 36, bilateral) for 30 min, intensity of 1-2-3 mA (increasing 1 mA per 10 min), once a day or once every other day for 3 times or 5 times. Sham-EA groups were treated with similar procedure except that the output leads of the stimulator were disconnected. The sperm density, viability, motility, the number of grade A sperm, and grade A+B sperm were examined by computer-assisted sperm analysis.

RESULTS

(1) 2 Hz-EA treatment daily in 3 d:compared with the model group and the sham-EA group, 2 Hz-EA treatment once daily had no significant effect on all of the sperm motility indexes in the asthenozoospermic rats (>0.05). (2) 2 Hz-EA treatment every other day in 5 d:compared with the model group, EA treatment could increase the sperm motility (<0.05), the number of grade A sperm (<0.05), and the number of grade A+B sperm (<0.05) in the asthenozoospermic rats. However, compared with the sham-EA group, EA treatment could only improve the number of grade A+B sperm (<0.05). (3) 2 Hz-EA treatment every other day in 9 d:compared with both the model group and the sham-EA group, EA treatment could markedly improve the sperm viability (<0.001), the sperm motility (<0.001), the number of grade A sperm (<0.001), and the number of grade A+B sperm (<0.001) in the asthenozoospermic rats. (4) 100 Hz-EA treatment every other day in 9 days:compared with both the model group and the sham-EA group, all of the sperm indexes in the asthenozoospermic rats including the sperm viability (<0.001 vs. the model group, <0.05 vs. the sham-EA group), the sperm motility (<0.001 vs. the model group, <0.01 vs. the sham-EA group), the number of grade A sperm (<0.01) and the number of grade A+B sperm (<0.01) also could be improved after EA treatment. Unexpectedly,none of the EA treatment had significant influence on the sperm density in the asthenozoospermic rats.

CONCLUSIONS

Both 2 Hz-EA and 100 Hz-EA treatment once every other day for 5 times in 9 d had a therapeutic effect on asthenozoospermia by improving the sperm viability and the sperm motility in the rats.