Anti-Depressants Can Damage Men's Sperm

NEW YORK - Add anti-depressants to the list of substances that can damage men’s sperm and potentially impair their fertility.
In a new study, New York researchers report that as many as half of men taking the anti-depressant paroxetine (brand names, Seroxat and Paxil) have higher levels of sperm fragmentation.
The study was published online today by the journal Fertility & Sterility.
“It’s fairly well known that SSRI anti-depressants negatively impact erectile function and ejaculation. This study goes on step further, demonstrating that they can cause a major increase in genetic damage to sperm,” said Dr. Peter Schlegel, the study’s senior author and professor of reproductive medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.
“Although this study doesn’t look directly at fertility, we can infer that as many as half of men taking SSRIs have a reduced ability to conceive. These men should talk with their physicians about their treatment options,” he added.
The study followed 35 healthy men who took paroxetine for five weeks. Tests were used to examine DNA fragmentation, which occurs when sperm DNA is missing pieces of the genetic code. The results showed that 50 percent of men had signs of abnormal DNA fragmentation while taking the drug, compared with less than 10 percent at the start of the trial.
The men’s sperm returned to normal after discontinuing the drug.
Dr. Cigdem Tanrikut speculated that the anti-depressant caused mens’ sperm to slow down as it makes its way through the male reproductive tract. Sperm gets “hung up,” she said in a statement, allowing it to age and become damaged.
The amount, concentration and motility of sperm were not significantly changed by the medication.
Though men may not know it, sperm can be damaged by various substances, including smoking, alcohol, heat, anabolic steroids, drug abuse, sexually transmitted diseases and some environmental exposures.
from The Chicago Tribune

Men Who Gorge On Steak Have Slower Sperm

SPAIN - Men who feast on steak, burgers and full-fat cream have such poor quality sperm that they stand little chance of fathering a child.
However those who eat a lot of fruit and vegetables have higher quality sperm that swims faster, according to new research.
Scientists in Spain found good quality sperm is a direct result of a diet high in antioxidants found in fruit and vegetables and especially in peppers, citrus fruits and spinach.
Antioxidants work by slowing or stopping the oxidation of other molecules in the body which has a direct effect on both the number of sperm and their ability move fast.
Sperm are fewer and slower in men who eat few antioxidants and instead feast on meat and full-fat dairy products.
Lead researcher Jaime Mendiola, of the University of Murcia, Spain, said: 'A healthy diet is not only a good way of avoiding illness, but improves the quality of semen.
'Men who eat lots of meat and full-fat dairy products have much poorer quality sperm than those who eat lots of fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products. People who eat more fruits and vegetables are ingesting more antioxidants, and this is the important point.'
The scientists spent four years studying men in two fertility clinics in Spain to see if anything in their diets or exposure to pollution at work was making it difficult for some to father children.
'We saw that, among the couples with fertility problems coming to the clinics, men with good semen quality ate more vegetables and fruit, which means more vitamins, folic acid and fibre and fewer proteins and fats, than those with poor sperm quality,' Professor Mendiola said.
In his next study he will examine if it matters if men receive their vitamins from food or from pills.
The study carried out among 61 men, 30 of whom had reproductive problems and 31 who didn't. The research was published in the journal 'Fertility and Sterility'.
from The Daily Mail

Cell Phones May Damage Sperm Quality

CLEVELAND, OHIO - A new study suggests talking on the cell phone for more than four hours a day may lower men's sperm counts. The researchers think this may be due to radiation from mobile phones, which may affect sperm by damaging DNA.
The study of 364 men found that those who used their cell phones more than four hours a day had less sperm, and the sperm that they had didn't move as well and were of poorer quality than the sperm of men who were less reliant on cell phones. Their sperm counts, on average, were 50 million per milliliter.
Men who talked on the cell phone for two to four hours a day had fairly healthy sperm, and their sperm counts averaged about 69 million per milliliter. Men who never used cell phones had the healthiest sperm of the group, with sperm counts of about 86 million per milliliter.
Dr. Ashok Agarwal from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, who led the research, said the study did not prove that cell phones negatively affected sperm quality, but the findings show that more research is warranted.
He said at an American Society for Reproductive Medicine conference in New Orleans, "There was a significant decrease in the most important measures of sperm health, and that should definitely be reflected in a decrease in fertility, which is seen worldwide.
"People use mobile phones without thinking twice what the consequences might be."
However, Dr. Allen Percy, senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, is skeptical that such a link exists.
He tells BBC News, "This is a good study, but I don't think it tackles the issue."
"If you're holding it up to your head to speak a lot, it makes no sense that it is having a direct effect on your testes," he says.
Percy says people who spend a lot of time on their cell phones may be more sedentary, undergo more stress or eat more junk food, and such lifestyle factors - not cell phone use itself - may be the real culprits.
from All Headline News