Abstract Objective: This work was conducted to evaluate the effect of L-carnitine on sperm morphology in sub fertile patients who need enhance for intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) as a method of infertility treatment.
Setting: Assisted Reproduction Unit, at the International Islamic Centre for Population Studies and Researchs (IICPSR), Al-Azhar University and Zoology Department Faculty of Science (Girl’s Branch), Al-Azhar University.
Materials and methods: According to the routine semen analysis, 85 patients were divided into:
Group 1: Ten normal fertile men.
Group 2: 25 oligozoospermic cases with sperm count less than 20 million/ml.
Group 3: 25 athenozoospermic cases with reduced sperm motility <40%. Group 4: 25 teratozoospermic cases with more than >40% abnormal forms.
L. carnitine therapy in the form of Carnivita forte 1 gm /tab. b.i.d. for three months were given to
groups 2, 3 and 4. All the patients underwent semen analysis before and 90 days after therapy.
Group 1 was subjected to two semen analysis 3 months apart as a control. Smears were made on slides, fixed in absolute ethyl alcohol and stained with H&E and methyl green pyronin for light microscopic study. A second semen sample was processed for electron microscopic study.