Metabolic markers in male infertility: a pilot study

Abstract

Male infertility is an emerging health problem and there is an urgent need to search for therapeutic options. Altered metabolic states such as obesity and metabolic syndrome have been linked with male infertility. Therefore, searching for metabolic biomarkers is vital. Present work aimed to study metabolic alterations in infertile males. The seminal levels of L-Carnitine (LC), Kisspeptin (Kiss1) and Ghrelin (GHRL) were evaluated in 14 infertile and 10 fertile males. Baseline semen analysis was performed for both cases and controls. The levels of LC and Kiss1 were found to be lower in infertile patients as compared to fertile controls and the difference was found to be statistically significant. There was no significant difference observed in GHRL levels between patients and controls. The study presents a preliminary data where LC and Kiss1 levels could possibly studied further for their association with male infertility. But to confirm their association with pathogenesis of male infertility, future studies need to be conducted in larger cohorts.

Keywords

• l-carnitine (lc)
• assisted reproductive technology
• male infertility
• intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (icsi)
• ghrelin (ghrl)
• kisspeptin (kiss1)