ReviewBasic and clinical andrology2022
Effect of oral alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) on sperm parameters: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Basic and clinical andrology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Current treatment for male infertility: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.Asian journal of andrology · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy of Alpha Lipoic Acid Supplementation in Sperm Parameters: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials.International braz j urol : official journal of the Brazilian Society of UrologyPooled it
- Inflammaging: Immune-Metabolic Crosstalk Between the Prostate-Testis and Musculoskeletal System.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- A to Z of Health: An Evidence-Based Narrative Review of Multivitamin-Multimineral and Nutraceutical Supplementation.Cureus · 2026Review
- Alpha-lipoic Acid: An Antioxidant with Anti-aging Properties for Disease Therapy.Current medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
- Maternal supplementation of alpha-lipoic acid ameliorates prenatal cytarabine-induced mutilation in reproductive development and function in F1 male adult rats.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2024Article
- Effect of Alpha Lipoic Acid Supplementation on Oxidative Stress and Lipid Parameters in Women Diagnosed with Low-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions (LSILs): A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Alpha-lipoic acid improves the quality of ram spermatozoa stored at 4°C by reducing oxidative stress and increasing mitochondrial potential.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMale fertility has gradually become a worldwide problem with limitations in the treatment. Alpha-lipoic acid, has been applied to improve the quality of sperm in clinical practice. However, there was currently no high quality of systematic review to evaluate the effects of alpha-lipoic acid on sperm parameters. MATERIAL AND
methodsThe Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Clinicaltrials.org, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, China Biology Medicine Database, etc., were retrieved. Related randomized controlled trials had be collected and selected up to March 10, 2022. English literature and Chinese literature were searched using terms including "male infertility", "semen", "sperm", "alpha-lipoid acid", "α-lipoid acid", "alpha lipoid acid", "thioctic acid". All statistical analyses were conducted by RevMan 5.3.
resultsA total of 133 participants in three studies included. Compared with sham therapy, treated with alpha-lipoic acid has significant improvement in the following sperm parameters, including abnormal sperm forms (mean difference[MD] = -1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -1.29-0.84, p < 0.00001), sperm concentration (MD = 3.98, 95%CI = 2.28-5.67, p < 0.00001), sperm total motility (grade a+b+c) (MD = 6.68, 95%CI = 4.88-8.48, p < 0.00001) and progressive motility(grade a+b) (MD = 6.90, 95%CI = 5.62-8.17, p < 0.00001) and semen volume(MD = -0.17, 95%CI = -0.31-0.02, p = 0.03).
conclusionsIn this meta-analysis of three randomized controlled trials, compared with other treatments, alpha-lipoic acid could improve normal sperm forms, sperm concentration, sperm total motility and progressive motility, but more stringent randomized controlled trials must be conducted.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.