Figure 1.

Effect of cadmium and/or topiramate on testicular impairment and sperm analysis in rats. The co-treatment with topiramate (chemical structure; A) did not significantly affect cadmium testicular levels [H (3, 20) = 42.45, p < 0.0001] (B). However, topiramate cotreatment counteracted the testicular impairment and sperm aberrations that were activated by cadmium administration. This was revealed by increased testicular coefficient [H (3, 20) = 6.23, p < 0.0001] (C), serum testosterone [H (3, 20) = 14.32, p < 0.0001] (D), sperm count [H (3, 20) = 12.20, p < 0.0001] (E), sperm viability [H (3, 20) = 11.26, p = 0.0002] (F), and sperm motility [H (3, 20) = 13.93, p < 0.0001] (G). Meanwhile, the sperm abnormalities were lowered [H (3, 20) = 17.67, p < 0.0001] (H). Results are demonstrated as the mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM) for six rats in each experimental group. * p < 0.05, *** p < 0.001, or **** p < 0.0001 signifies statistical significance versus the control group; ^# p < 0.05, ^## p < 0.01, signifies statistical significance versus cadmium chloride-treated group. TPM, topiramate; Cd, cadmium chloride.