The Impact of Lifestyle on Sperm Telomere Length and Telomerase Activity in Men Undergoing IVF Treatments

Investigating the Impact of Lifestyle on Telomere Length and Telomerase Activity on Sperm Cells Originating From Infertile Men Undergoing IVF Treatment

Status

UNKNOWN

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT04158765

Enrollment

100

Registered

2019-11-12

Start date

2019-11-20

Completion date

2023-01-31

Last updated

2022-06-23

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Male Infertility

Brief summary

This aim of this study is to determine the impact of lifestyle on telomere length and telomerase enzyme activity on sperm cells of men undergoing IVF treatments.

Detailed description

Following approval of the study by the Hospital Ethical Committee (Helsinki), semen samples and blood will be collected from infertile individuals referred to our IVF unit at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center. Informed written consent will be obtained from each participant. Standard semen analysis will be carried out according to World Health Organization protocol. An aliquot of semen sample will be used for assessment of sperm motility, concentration, and morphology by using computer-aided sperm analysis (CASA) and the remaining sample will be used for assessment of sperm telomere lengths and telomerase activity. Genomic DNA will be extracted from the remaining washed sperm and peripheral blood. Sperm telomere length will be determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and telomerase activity will be determined by TRAP assay (Telomeric Repeat Amplification Protocol).

Interventions

OTHERDNeasy Tissue Kit (QIAGEN Inc., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) and PCR- based assay (TRAPeze Telomerase Detection Kit; Millipore, Billerica, MA).

DNA will be extracted from sperm using the DNeasy Tissue Kit and Telomerase activity in samples will be measured using a PCR- based assay.

Study design

Observational model

COHORT

Time perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

MALE

Age

18 Years to 60 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Infertile couple

Exclusion criteria

* Chronic disease * Azoospermia

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Telomere length	Two years	After laboratory determination of telomere length, results will be compared to lifestyle of subject to see whether smoking or other lifestyle behaviors have an effect

Countries

Israel

Contacts

Primary ContactOfer Limonad, MD

oferlimonad@gmail.com972-52-5322972

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026