Table 3.
Effects of atorvastatin on human semen parameters and lipids composition
| Control baseline | 5-month treatment | 3 months after withdrawal | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Conventional semen parameters | |||
| Semen volume (ml) |
3.9 ± 0.4 |
4.0 ± 0.6 |
3.5 ± 0.4 |
| Semen pH |
8.0 ± 0.1 |
7.9 ± 0.1 |
8.1 ± 0.2 |
| Sperm concentration (106 spz/ml) |
146.1 ± 17.8 |
119.1 ± 15.6 |
109.9 ± 14.8 |
| Sperm number (106 spz/ejaculate) |
540.5 ± 83.3 |
449.1 ± 75.6 |
375.0 ± 60.5* |
| Vitality (%) |
85.2 ± 1.5 |
78.8 ± 1.7** |
77.1 ± 2.7* |
| Total motility (%) |
60.9 ± 1.8 |
65.5 ± 2.2* |
62.7 ± 2.5 |
| Progressive motility (%) |
57.9 ± 1.8 |
58.6 ± 2.2 |
58.0 ± 2.8 |
| VSL (μm/s) |
50.4 ± 2.9 |
47.5 ± 1.5 |
50.6 ± 2.5 |
| VCL (μm/s) |
84.6 ± 2.5 |
80.8 ± 2.3 |
87.1 ± 3.2 |
| Linearity (%) |
61.1 ± 2.2 |
58.8 ± 1.4 |
57.9 ± 2,0 |
| ALH (μm) |
3.7 ± 0.2 |
3.6 ± 0.1 |
3.8 ± 0.2 |
| Sperm abnormalities (%) |
64.5 ± 2.6 |
63.5 ± 2.4 |
66.4 ± 2.4 |
| Head abnormalities |
66.1 ± 4,0 |
64.8 ± 3.5 |
73.5 ± 4.6‡ |
| Excess residual cytoplasm |
3.1 ± 0.6 |
5.8 ± 1.3 |
5.2 ± 0.9 |
| Neck and midpiece abnormalities |
13.3 ± 1.9 |
13.0 ± 2.2 |
17.7 ± 1.7* |
| Tail abnormalities |
6.6 ± 1.0 |
4.7 ± 0.8 |
6.9 ± 1.2 |
| MAI |
1.6 ± 0.18 |
1.41 ± 0.03 |
1.54 ± 0.05‡‡ |
|
Cholesterol and phospholipid concentrations in Spermatozoa (nmol/10
8
) | |||
| Cholesterol |
80.94 ± 6.08 |
95.47 ± 9.88 |
93.32 ± 8.09 |
| PE |
50.46 ± 6.10 |
61.82 ± 6.32 |
57.37 ± 6.91 |
| PC |
120.55 ± 17.84 |
158.00 ± 18.09 |
142.97 ± 16.83 |
| SM |
34.48 ± 4.11 |
42.56 ± 6.47 |
32.61 ± 2.42 |
| Cholesterol/(PE + PC + SM) ratio |
0.46 ± 0.04 |
0.39 ± 0.03 |
0.44 ± 0.05 |
|
Cholesterol and phospholipid concentrations in Seminal fluid (μmol/ml) | |||
| Cholesterol |
34.38 ± 2.55 |
35.24 ± 3.00 |
34.48 ± 3.33 |
| PE |
5.52 ± 0.64 |
6.10 ± 0.73 |
7.95 ± 1.75 |
| PC |
6.95 ± 0.78 |
7.21 ± 0.95 |
7.90 ± 2.09 |
| SM |
12.58 ± 1.38 |
12.71 ± 1.42 |
12.07 ± 1.14 |
| Cholesterol/(PE + PC + SM) ratio | 1.44 ± 0.06 | 1.40 ± 0.06 | 1.36 ± 0.07 |
Data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Seventeen normocholesterolaemic men received 10 mg/d atorvastatin during 5 months as described in Methods. The semen parameters and cholesterol and phospholipid concentrations were measured before (control baseline values), during and 3 months after the end of treatment.
VSL: straight line velocity; VCL: curvilinear velocity; ALH: amplitude of lateral head displacement; MAI: Multiple Anomalies Index; PE: phosphatidylethanolamine; PC: phosphatidylcholine; SM: sphingomyelin. *and **indicate that the value is significantly different from those obtained before treatment with p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 respectively. ‡ and ‡‡ indicate that the value is significantly different from the value measured during atorvastatin uptake with p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 respectively.