[Compound Amino Acid Capsule (8-11) combined with L-carnitine for the treatment of asthenospermia]

To observe the clinical effect of combined application of Compound Amino Acid Capsule (8-11) (CAAC8-11) and L-carnitine (LC) in the treatment of idiopathic asthenospermia (IAS), and to explore its possible therapeutic mechanism.

Based on the principle of double-blind and control, we selected 120 cases of IAS meeting the diagnostic criteria of asthenospermia in the WHO Manual for the Examination and Processing of Human Semen (5th Ed) and randomly divided them into three groups of an equal number: CAAC8-11 + LC, LC control and blank control, the former given CAAC8-11 in addition to LC oral liquid, and the latter two given LC oral liquid and life intervention, respectively, all for 12 weeks. We collected semen samples from all the patients before and after treatment, and examined perm motility, the contents of neutral α- glucosidase (NAG) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI), and the expression of the Nrf2 protein.

Compared with the baseline, the total sperm motility was significantly improved in the IAS patients after treated with CAAC8-11 + LC (［27.50 ± 0.77］% vs ［32.50 ± 0.74］%, P < 0.05) or LC only (［27.60 ± 0.66］% vs ［30.90 ± 0.70］%, P < 0.05), dramatically higher in the CAAC8-11 + LC than in the LC and blank control groups (P < 0.01). The content of NAG in the epididymis was remarkably increased after treatment in the CAAC8-11 + LC than in the LC and blank control groups (［23.90 ± 0.56］ vs ［21.20 ± 0.49］ and ［16.80 ± 0.42］ mU, P < 0.05), so was the expression of Nrf2 (P < 0.05), while the ROS level was markedly decreased in the former than in the latter two groups (［81.60 ± 2.50］ vs ［88.50 ± 2.50］ and ［88.70 ± 2.40］ μg/ml, P < 0.05).

CAAC8-11 + LC has a good clinical effect on asthenospermia, with no adverse reactions, which may be attributed to its ability to regulate the high expression of Nrf2, decrease the production of ROS and reduce the damage of oxidative stress to sperm motility.