Oral daily melatonin supplementation attenuates oxidative stress in testes of men with idiopathic infertility

RIVIERE E; PUIGDOMENECH E; TERRADAS C; FRUNGIERI MB; PONZIO R; MARTINEZ, G; MATZKIN ME; ROSSI SP; LEVALLE O; CALANDRA RS

Mar del Plata

Congreso; LXIV Reunión de la Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica; 2019

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación Clínica, SAIC

Melatonin (mel) modulates testicular function acting indirectly through the hypothalamus/pituitary and directly on different gonadal cells. We previously demonstrated that testicular expression of several inflammatory markers was increased in biopsies of infertile patients compared to biopsies of men with normal spermatogenesis. Oral mel intake attenuated testicular inflammation in infertile patients.Because inflammation and oxidative stress are co-dependent pathophysiological processes, and mel is known as a potent antioxidant agent, in this study we evaluated the impact of oral mel supplementation on testicular oxidative state in infertile patients.Testicular biopsies of patients with idiopathic infertility (n=35) and normal histology (n=6) were used. A sub-group of infertile patients (n=11) were under mel supplementation (3 mg single oral daily dose) to treat sleep disorders.Mel concentration was lower in testes of infertile patients compared to gonads of men with normal morphology. Oral daily mel intake in infertile patients restored testicular mel concentration close to control levels (p