Department of Internal Medicine, Umberto I Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Ancona, Ancona, Italy. g.balercia@ao-umbertoprimo.marche.it

OBJECTIVE: To clarify a potential therapeutic role of coenzyme Q(10) (CoQ(10)) in infertile men with idiopathic asthenozoospermia. DESIGN: Open, uncontrolled pilot study. PATIENT(S): Infertile men with idiopathic asthenozoospermia. INTERVENTION(S): CoQ(10) was administered orally; semen samples were collected at baseline and after 6 months of therapy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE (S): Semen kinetic parameters, including computer-assisted sperm data and CoQ(10) and phosphatidylcholine levels. RESULT(S): CoQ(10) levels increased significantly in seminal plasma and in sperm cells after treatment. Phosphatidylcholine levels also increased. A significant increase was also found in sperm cell motility as confirmed by computer-assisted analysis. A positive dependence (using the Cramer’s index of association) was evident among the relative variations, baseline and after treatment, of seminal plasma or intracellular CoQ(10) content and computer-determined kinetic parameters. CONCLUSION(S): The exogenous administration of CoQ(10) may play a positive role in the treatment of asthenozoospermia. This is probably the result of its role in mitochondrial bioenergetics and its antioxidant properties.

PMID: 14711549 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Fertil Steril. 2004 Jan;81(1):93-8.

Tags: , Coenzyme Q10, male infertility