title: Efficacy of Compound Therapy by Ginseng and Ciprofloxacin on Bacterial Prostatitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Genitourinary tract infections play a significant role in male infertility. Infections of reproductive sex glands, such as the prostate, impair function and indirectly affect male fertility. The general aim of this study is to investigate the protective effect of Korean red ginseng (KRG) on prostatitis in male rats treated with ciprofloxacin (CIPX).
  
  
  METHODS
  In this experimental study, we randomly divided 72 two male Wistar rats into 9 groups. The groups were treated as follows for 10 days: i. Control (no medication), ii. Sham [(normal saline injection into the vas deferens and oral administration of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)], iii. Ginseng, iv. CPIX, v. CIPX+ginseng, vi. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) (UPEC), vii. UPEC+ginseng, viii. UPEC+CIPX, and ix. UPEC+ginseng+CIPX. The rats were killed 14 days after the last injection and the prostate glands were removed. After sample preparation, routine histology was performed using hematoxylin and eosin staining. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) method was used to determine the presence of apoptotic cells.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The severity score for acinar changes and inflammatory cell infiltration in the UPEC+CIPX group did not significantly different from the UPEC group. However this score significantly decreased in the UPEC+CIPX+ginseng group compared to the UPEC group. Apoptotic index of all ginseng treated groups significantly decreased compared to the UPEC and CPIX groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggested that ginseng might be an effective adjunct in CIPX treatment of prostatitis. The combined use ginseng and CIPX was more effective than ginseng or CIPX alone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miri
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
authors.forename: Saeid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shokri
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran.
authors.forename: Shahram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Darabi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahmood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alipour Heidari
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
authors.forename: Akhgar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghalyanchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hassan
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Karimfar
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shirazi
keywords: Ciprofloxacin; Ginseng; Infection; Prostate