Tamoxifen treatment of oligozoospermia: a re-evaluation of its effects including additional sperm function tests.
Because of previous contradictory results, we reevaluated the effects of tamoxifen on 29 men presenting with idiopathic oligozoospermia. To determine whether a possible increase in sperm concentration might be correlated with an improvement of sperm quality, the hamster ovum penetration (HOP) test and the hypo-osmotic swelling (HOS) test were included as additional tests of sperm function. Patients were treated with tamoxifen (20 mg/day) for 3 months. From 4 weeks until the end of the study, tamoxifen had a significant effect (P < 0.001) on blood levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone (T), and estradiol (E2). Prolactin (PRL) concentrations were not altered significantly (P > 0.05). There was no significant improvement (P > 0.05) of conventional semen parameters (volume, concentration, motility, morphology), and of HOP and HOS test results. The lack of correlation between a rise in hormone levels and improvement of sperm quality suggests that tamoxifen is of questionable value in men with idiopathic oligozoospermia.
Abteilung Frauenheilkunde, Geburtshilfe der Universität, Ulm, Germany.
K
K
Sterzik
B
B
Rosenbusch
J
J
Mogck
M
M
Heyden
K
K
Lichtenberger
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006728:Hormones / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009845:Oligospermia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D013076:Sperm Count / Q000187:drug effects; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000187:drug effects; D013084:Sperm-Ovum Interactions / Q000187:drug effects; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013629:Tamoxifen / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D006728:Hormones; D013629:Tamoxifen