Abstract

In the study correlation between sperm parameters and seminal plasma creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and cholesterol levels in fertile and infertile subjects has been investigated.

This study was performed with data of 38 infertile and 15 fertile men. Sperm analyses addition to CPK and cholesterol measurements in seminal plasma were done. <20 million/ml sperm was considered as oligospermia; <60% motile sperm as asthenospermia; <60% sperm with normal morphology as teratospermia. According to these criteria the patients were categorized, and the means of CPK and cholesterol determined in each group were compared with one-way ANOVA test. In addition, the correlation between seminal parameters and CPK and cholesterol was evaluated with Pearson coefficient.

The mean age of the patients was 29.5 (20-39). CPK levels were generally lower in oligospermic and asthenospermic subjects than in others, and cholesterol levels were higher in these two groups, though all comparisons among the groups constituted as to sperm parameters were statistically not important (p>0.1). However CPK correlated significantly with sperm count in subfertile (r=0.523, p=0.005), and cholesterol with sperm count in normospermic subfertile men (r=0.814, p=0.049).

Unlike the studies reporting the poor correlation between sperm count and seminal plasma CPK levels, the study have exposed the positive and significant correlation between CPK and cholesterol levels in seminal plasma and sperm count in subfertile men. The results of this study will be able to contribute to investigations concerning CPK-spermatozoa maturation and cholesterol-capacitation.