RESUMEN
Objective To investigate the effects of levocarnitine on pregnancy outcome of the patients with obstructive azoospermia treated with intracytoplasmic sperm injection ( ICSI ) . Methods A total of 74 patients with obstructive azoospermatism treated with ICSI randomly divided into 2 groups:treatment group( n=38) , taking levocarnitine before treatment with ICSI 1 g twice a day for three months;control group( n=36) , taking vitamine E before treatment with ICSI 0.1 g twice a day time for three months.tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), reactive oxygen species(ROS) level, epididymal sperm motility and morphology in epididymal fluid of the two groups were determined before and after treatments. The number of matured oocytes, fertilization, and embryos of adequate quality, the rate of fertilization and embryo of adequate quality, and pregnancy rates after PESA-ICSI were compared between the two groups. Results TNF-α in epididymal fluid before and after the treatment was (5.39±2.28)and(4.05±2.14)ng.mL-1 in the treatment group(P0.05).After PESA-ICSI, the number and percentage of high quality embryo in the treatment group were significantly higher than those of the control group(P<0.05). Conclusion Levocarnitine can down-regulate epididymal TNF-α and ROS in patients with obstructive azoospermatism, thereby improve the environment of the epididymis and elevate the quality of sperm and ICSI pregnancy outcome.