COENZYME-Q10 CONCENTRATIONS IN NORMAL AND PATHOLOGICAL HUMAN SEMINAL FLUID

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) levels were assayed in total seminal fluid or bot h in seminal fluid and seminal plasma in 77 subjects with normal or pa thological findings at standard semen analysis. CoQ10 levels showed a significant correlation with sperm count and with sperm motility. An i nteresting exception was constituted by patients with varicocele, in w hom the correlation with sperm concentration was preserved, whereas th e correlation with sperm motility was lacking. Moreover, they showed a n increased ratio of plasma CoQ to total seminal CoQ10 in comparison w ith the other subjects. These data suggest a pathophysiological meanin g of CoQ10 in human seminal fluid and a possible molecular defect in v aricocele patients. CoQ10 measurement could represent an important exa mination in infertile patients; moreover, from these results a rationa le might arise for a possible treatment with exogenous CoQ10 in dysper mic patients.