ArticleTrials2022
Effects of alpha-lipoic acid on sperm quality in patients with varicocele-related male infertility: study protocol for a randomized controlled clinical trial.
Article in Trials, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Research progress on the role and mechanism of DNA damage repair in germ cell development.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Pooled it
- The Effects of Alpha-Lipoic Acid Supplement on Sperm Parameters and DNA Fragmentation in Couples with Recurrent Pregnancy Loss: A Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of fertility & sterility · 2026Article
- A Comparative Analysis of the Antioxidant Profiles Generated by the RoXstaAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Causal inference of inflammatory proteins in infertility: a Mendelian randomization study.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Article
- 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
- Aberrant Expression of TET2 Accounts for DNA Hypomethylation in Varicocele.Cell journal · 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
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVaricocele is a high incidence and is considered to be the most common and correctable cause of male infertility. Oxidative stress (OS) plays a central role in the pathogenesis of varicocele-related male infertility. In addition to varicocelectomy, antioxidant supplementation seems to be an effective scheme for the treatment of varicocele-related male infertility, but it is still controversial. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) supplementation on sperm quality in patients with varicocele-related male infertility.
methodsIn this randomized controlled clinical trial, we will randomize 80 patients with varicocele-related male infertility from Guilin People's Hospital. The non-surgical observation group (n = 20) will receive ALA, the non-surgical control group (n = 20) will receive vitamin E, the surgical observation group (n = 20) will receive ALA after the operation, and the surgical control group (n = 20) will receive vitamin E after the operation. The course of treatment will be 3 months. The results will compare the changes in semen parameters, sex hormones, testicular volume, sperm DNA fragment index (DFI), seminal plasma malondialdehyde (MDA), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) between the groups at baseline and after 3 months of antioxidant supplementation. DISCUSSION: Whether it is necessary to use antioxidants in varicocele-related male infertility, how potent antioxidants should be used, postoperative application or non-surgical independent application still needs to be explored. This study attempts to compare the effects of two antioxidants (ALA and vitamin E) on sperm quality in patients with varicocele-related male infertility (surgical or non-surgical) and attempted to answer the above questions.
trial registrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) ChiCTR2100054958. Registered on 29 December 2021.
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.