Mazdak Razi - Department of Basic Science, Faculty of Veterinar y Medicine, Urmia University

The Varicocele (VCL) has been implicated as a major cause of male infertility in in 35% of men with primary Infertility and in up to 80% of men with secondary infertility. A number of studies have demonstrated increased levels of ROS and reduced total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in men with a clinical diagnosis of varicocele. These reports suggest that, the sperm dysfunction in varicocele patients may be in part related to oxidative stress and as a negative predictor of fertility potential men with DNA damage higher that 30% have very low potential for in-vitro and in-vivo fertility. In line with this issue, several positive results were obserened after oral administration of various antioxidant agents/chemicals in varicoceles with moderate DNA damage. For instance, the administration of glutathione (GSH), every day for 2 months, could significantly boost sperm count and motility in men with VCL. In other study, the carnitine and acetyl-ℓ-carnitine for 6 months could fairly enhance the sperm parameters, including DNAintegrity. In another study, 20 infertile patients with grade I varicocele were given multivitamins (L-Carnitine, vitamin C, coenzyme Q10, vitamin E, vitamin B9, vitamin B12, zinc, selenium) daily, for 3 months and the results showed increased sperm basic parameters and a decrease in sperm DNA fragmentation. Morover, A complex ofacetyl-L-carnitine, L-carnitine fumarate and alpha-lipoic acid have been shown to up-regulate sperm quality even after varicocelectomy. Thus, the management of DNA damage in varicoceles is also challenging and antioxidant therapy in patients with VCL, proportionately can improve semen quality.  

Varicocele, Sperm DNA damage, Antioxidant, Sperm