Light-emitting diode exposure enhances sperm motility in men with and without asthenospermia: preliminary results

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of light-emitting diode (LED) on sperm motility in men with and without asthenospermia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Semen samples from 27 men were assessed and washed. An aliquot was taken from each sample as a control. The remaining amount was exposed to red LED for 2, 5 and 10 minutes. Sperm motility from the test and control tubes were re-checked at the end of each time interval. In 11 of these 27 samples, the same protocol was repeated without sperm washing. Evaluation of sperm creatine kinase (CK) activity, hypoosmotic swelling (HOS) test and aniline blue staining (ANBS) were undertaken after phototherapy in additional 15 samples. RESULTS: Progressive sperm motility increased significantly after LED treatment at the different time intervals whether in washed (p = 0.000) or non-washed (p = 0.003) samples. The amount of the increase in motility in washed aliquots was significantly more (p = 0.000) than in naive semen. Sperm CK activity increased, but was not significant whilst there were no changes regarding HOS and ANBS. CONCLUSION: Red LED is a promising safe tool to boost sperm motility in vitro. This may have a great implication on maximizing the possibilities and outcomes of intrauterine insemination trials.