Research question

Does supplementation with alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) enhance sperm parameters and/or the status of sperm lipid peroxidation and DNA fragmentation in men who have undergone microsurgical repair of a varicocele?

Design

Individuals with a varicocele who had undergone varicocelectomy were divided into two groups receiving either 600 mg of ALA or an identical placebo for 80 days. Semen samples obtained from the participants before surgery and after completion of the course of medication were analysed and compared. Participants, clinicians and data analysts were blinded to the randomization sequence.

Results

In the ALA group, total motility (P = 0.01) and progressive motility (P = 0.002) of the spermatozoa were significantly higher compared with the placebo group after surgery. Sperm lipid peroxidation and DNA damage (assessed by sperm chromatin structure assay) showed significant decreases in both the ALA and placebo groups (P ≤ 0.02) after treatment.

Conclusions

An 80-day course of ALA medication after surgical repair improves total motility and progressive motility of the spermatozoa in individuals with a varicocele.

中文翻译：

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α-硫辛酸改善精索静脉曲张术后不育男性的精子活力：一项三盲随机对照试验

研究问题

在接受精索静脉曲张显微外科修复的男性中，补充α-硫辛酸 (ALA) 是否会增强精子参数和/或精子脂质过氧化和 DNA 断裂的状态？

设计

接受精索静脉曲张切除术的精索静脉曲张患者被分为两组，接受 600 毫克 ALA 或相同的安慰剂治疗 80 天。分析和比较了从参与者手术前和完成疗程后获得的精液样本。参与者、临床医生和数据分析师对随机序列不知情。

结果

在 ALA 组中， 与安慰剂组相比，手术后精子的总运动能力 ( P  = 0.01) 和进行性运动 ( P = 0.002) 显着更高。 治疗后，ALA 组和安慰剂组的精子脂质过氧化和 DNA 损伤（通过精子染色质结构测定评估）均显着降低（P ≤ 0.02）。

结论

手术修复后 80 天的 ALA 药物疗程可改善精索静脉曲张患者精子的总运动能力和进行性运动。