L-Carnitine and Clomiphene Citrate for induction of ovulation in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is considered as one of the most popular endocrine disorders of women at their age of reproductive and it is known as the main cause of anovulatory infertility (Joham et al., 2015). PCOS is known as a chronic systemic disease, and it is usually related to hyperandrogenemia, oxidative stress, insulin resistance and chronic inflammation (Murri et al., 2013). In the majority of situations ovulation can be induced with clomiphene citrate which is considered one of the first-line treatments for induction of ovulation in PCOS women (Elsamy and Saleh, 2015). L-Carnitine is a small water-soluble molecule that is obtained from the two amino acids lysine and methionine, and it has an essential duty in fat metabolism. It also has an important role in the normal mitochondrial oxidation of fatty acids, which increase the supply of energy to the cells (Latifian et al., 2015; Maldonado et al., 2016). The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of adding L-carnitine to clomiphene citrate for increasing the ovulation and the pregnancy rate in women with PCOS.