Abstract:
Previous reports indicated that hyperinsulinaemic men may exhibit a higher
percentage of poorly compacted DNA in their spermatozoa and less success in
an IVF programme (Andrologia, 45, 2003, 18; Andrologia, 2014, doi: 10.1111/
and.12227). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of metformin
(Glucophage ) and antioxidant treatment (StaminoGro ) on the semen parameters
of hyperinsulinaemic men. Nineteen hyperinsulinaemic male patients were
treated for 3 months with metformin alone (Group A), and fifteen patients used
metformin in combination with the nutritional supplement (Group B). Combined
data of the two groups (pre- and post-treatment) differ significantly
regarding sperm morphology (P = 0.0003) and CMA3 (P < 0.0001) values. The
improvement in sperm morphology after treatment was similar for the two
respective groups (P < 0.05). The morphological normal sperm forms increased
from the mean percentage of 3.9 to 5.5% and from 4.2 to 5.5% for Group A
and B respectively. Where a combination of metformin and the supplement
were used (Group B), the combination treatment proved to be superior in
obtaining enhanced chromatin packaging quality although not statistically significant
(P = 0.5929) when compared with the metformin (Group A) group.
The chromatin packaging quality in Group B improved with 10% while the
improvement in Group A was approximately 8.3%. Therefore, infertile hyperinsulinaemic
men can benefit from metformin treatment and should be advised
on the use of nutritional supplements with antioxidant properties.
