[L-carnitine combined with coenzyme Q10 for idiopathic oligoasthenozoospermia: A double-blind randomized controlled...

To evaluate the clinical therapeutic effect of L-carnitine (LC) in combination with coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) on idiopathic oligoasthenozoospermia (iOAT).

Using the computer-generated random number sequence, we randomly assigned 262 infertile men with iOAT to four groups to receive oral administration of LC at 10 mL bid (n = 62), CoQ10 (n = 63) at 20 mg tid, LC combined with CoQ10 at the above dose (n = 63), and vitamin B1 as the placebo control (n = 74). After 3 months of treatment, we obtained sperm concentration, sperm motility, the percentage of progressively motile sperm, sperm DNA fragmentation index, the rate of sperm acrosome reaction, and the outcomes of clinical pregnancy and compared them among the four groups of patients.

After treatment, the combination group, as compared with the LC, CoQ10 and control groups, showed significantly higher sperm motility and percentage of progressively motile sperm (P <0.05). The percentage of sperm DNA fragments was markedly lower in the combination group than in the control (P <0.05), while the rate of clinical pregnancy remarkably higher in the former than in the latter group (30.0% vs 6.8%, P <0.008). There were no statistically significant differences among the four groups in the rates of sperm acrosome reaction and abortion (P >0.05).

Combination of LC and CoQ10 can improve the semen parameters and outcome of clinical pregnancy in the iOAT patient.