Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan-Mar;23(1):26-32.
doi: 10.18502/jri.v23i1.8449.

Seminal L-Carnitine In Infertile Oligoasthenoteratozoospermic Men with Varicocele

Taymour Mostafa  1 , Khadiga Abougabal  2 , Gesthimani Mintziori  3 , Nashaat Nabil  4 , Mohamed Adel  4 , Ahmed F AboSief  4
Affiliations

Seminal L-Carnitine In Infertile Oligoasthenoteratozoospermic Men with Varicocele

Taymour Mostafa et al. J Reprod Infertil. 2022 Jan-Mar.

Abstract

Background: Few studies have investigated the relationship of seminal L-Carnitine (LC) with male infertility associated with varicocele. The purpose of this prospective cross-sectional study was to assess seminal plasma LC levels in infertile oligoathenoteratozoospermic (OAT) men with varicocele.

Methods: Overall, 86 men were investigated. They were divided into infertile OAT men with varicocele (n=45), infertile OAT men without varicocele (n=21), and fertile men (n=20) as a control group. According to WHO guidelines, these men were subjected to history taking, clinical examination, and semen analysis. Seminal LC levels were evaluated by the colorimetric method. Statistical comparisons were done using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests and correlations were verified by the Pearson test. P-value<0.05 was set to be statistically significant.

Results: The mean seminal plasma LC levels were significantly lower in infertile OAT men with varicocele (216.3±57.1 ng/ml) compared to infertile OAT men without varicocele (252.9±62.9 ng/ml, p=0.01), or fertile men (382.8±63.6 ng/ml, p=0.001). Besides, the mean seminal plasma LC level exhibited statistically significant decreases in infertile OAT men of varicocele grade III compared to varicocele grade II cases, and in infertile OAT men with bilateral varicocele compared with unilateral varicocele cases. Collectively, there was a statistically significant positive correlation between seminal LC levels with sperm concentration, motility, and normal morphology.

Conclusion: Seminal LC levels are expressively reduced in infertile OAT men with varicocele and are influenced by an increase in varicocele grade and laterality.

Keywords: Infertility; L-Carnitine; Men; Oligoasthenoteratozoospermic; Semen; Sperm; Varicocele.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Significant positive correlations between seminal plasma LC (ng/ml) levels with sperm concentration, total sperm motility percentages, and sperm normal forms percentages
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Punab M, Poolamets O, Paju P, Vihljajev V, Pomm K, Ladva R, et al. Causes of male infertility: a 9-year prospective monocentre study on 1737 patients with reduced total sperm counts. Hum Reprod. 2017;32(1):18–31. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mintziori G, Nigdelis MP, Mathew H, Mousiolis A, Goulis DG, Mantzoros CS. The effect of excess body fat on female and male reproduction. Metabolism. 2020;107(6):154193. - PubMed
    1. Henkel R, Offor U, Fisher D. The role of infections and leukocytes in male infertility. Andrologia. 2021; 53(1):e13743. - PubMed
    1. Mintziori G, Kita M, Duntas L, Goulis DG. Consequences of hyperthyroidism in male and female fertility: pathophysiology and current management. J Endocrinol Invest. 2016;39(8):849–53. - PubMed
    1. Vander-Borght M, Wyns C. Fertility and infertility: definition and epidemiology. Clin Biochem. 2018; 62:2–10. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources