title: Treatment with thymosin alpha-1 increases fertilizing capacity of sperm of infertile men: a multicenter trial.
abstract: Thymosin alpha-1 (T alpha 1) significantly enhances the fertilizability of sperm from fertile men by increasing capacitation and/or acrosome reaction. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of T alpha 1 on fertilizing capacity of sperm of infertile men using the sperm penetration assay (SPA) in a multicenter clinical trial. T alpha 1 significantly (p = .0006 to < .0001) increased (31 to 45%) fertilizing capacity of sperm of 76% (50/68) of infertile men as defined by the sperm penetration index in SPA. The enhancing effect of T alpha 1 and the degree of enhancement depended on the T alpha 1 concentration in the seminal plasma, since these parameters showed a significant intercorrelation (r = .65 to .74, p = .039 to .01). It would appear that T alpha 1 may have clinical application in the diagnosis and treatment of male infertility especially mediated through defective sperm function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA.
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Naz
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Menge
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sacco
mesh_terms: D000177:Acrosome / Q000502:physiology; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012661:Semen / Q000737:chemistry; D013075:Sperm Capacitation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology; D013084:Sperm-Ovum Interactions / Q000502:physiology; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology; D000077596:Thymalfasin; D013947:Thymosin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D013947:Thymosin; D000077596:Thymalfasin