MARKERS OF ANTIOXIDANT PROTECTION SYSTEM IN DIAGNOSTICS OF EXTERNAL GENITAL ENDOMETRIOSIS IN INFERTILITY FEMALE PATIENTS

This prospective study evaluated plasma antioxidant markers coenzyme Q10 and alpha-tocopherol in 43 infertility patients with histologically confirmed external genital endometriosis undergoing laparoscopy, comparing them to 19 fertile women with prior births; severity was stratified by AFS stage (I–II vs III–IV). Using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection, the authors found significantly lower levels of both markers in endometriosis-associated infertility versus controls, with coenzyme Q10 decreasing further in more severe disease and alpha-tocopherol following a similar trend; they also reported a significant correlation between the two antioxidants. ROC analysis identified diagnostic thresholds (coenzyme Q10 <1.352 µg/mL and alpha-tocopherol <21.03 µg/mL) with “good” model quality and supported constructing a severity assessment scale, while noting the need for confirmation on a larger sample. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it focuses on noninvasive diagnostic markers for external genital endometriosis in infertile women.

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