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Fertility Issues
While we know full well that
cell phone (EMF) is
often related to infertility issues, low thyroid function is also a concern.
Natural treatment is available, and nutritional supplementation certainly is a
bonus.
fertility
women
men
Antidepressant treatment may
reduce male fertility
By Karla Gale,
Mon Nov 10, 2008
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Treatment with
paroxetine (Paxil), which belongs to the
selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitor (SSRI) class of antidepressant drugs, increases DNA
fragmentation in sperm, according to research presented today at the 64th
annual meeting of the American
Society for Reproductive Medicine in San Francisco.
Although the study did not directly evaluate
male fertility, the five-fold increase in the number of men who developed
abnormal sperm DNA while being treated with paroxetine is "troubling" and
"suggests an adverse effect on fertility," co-investigator Dr. Cigdem
Tanrikut, from Harvard Medical
School in Boston, told Reuters Health.
In a clinical trial she described as "the first
study to assess the impact of an SSRI on semen parameters in healthy men,"
35 men took paroxetine for 5 weeks. The drug was administered in once-daily
doses of 10 mg the first week, 20 mg in the second week, 30 mg the third and
fourth week, and 20 mg in the fifth week.
Tests were conducted on semen samples obtained
prior to starting paroxetine and after 4 weeks of treatment. The average DNA
fragmentation score increased from 13.8 percent before paroxetine was begun
to 30.3 percent at week 4, a statistically significant amount.
The percentage of men who had a fragmentation
score of 30 percent or higher before treatment rose from 10 percent to 50
percent.
Semen analyses conducted throughout the study,
however, showed normal volume, concentration, movement and appearance.
Paroxetine was also associated with significant
sexual dysfunction, with one third of men reporting problems with erectile
function and nearly half reporting ejaculatory difficulties.
"DNA integrity is crucial to normal fertility,"
Tanrikut said. For example, increased DNA fragmentation of sperm increases
the risk of failure of
intrauterine insemination.
"Abnormal sperm DNA integrity even affects
pregnancy outcomes of
the most advanced assisted
reproductive technologies, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF)," she
added. "In fact, it is the only male factor finding that has been shown to
affect intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) results."
"A large proportion of patients on (SSRIs) may
have their fertility affected," co-investigator Dr. Peter N. Schlegel, at
Weill Medical College of
Cornell University in New York, observed in correspondence with
Reuters Health.
Among infertile men taking an SSRI, "a standard
semen analysis won't measure this effect," Schlegel pointed out, and "a
special test for DNA fragmentation...should be considered."
The sperm appears to be damaged by a slowing
down of their transport through the body, "a novel mechanism of damage," he
said. "Most agents affect fertility by knocking down sperm production.
Slowing down sperm transport can allow sperm to be damaged (by higher
temperatures, or just 'getting too old' -- being ejaculated after they
should have been)."
"We have seen severe cases where the sperm are
slowed down so much that almost no sperm appear in the ejaculate."
Based on these findings, the research team is
planning larger studies using other SSRI antidepressants.
Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited.
The arms race in hand soap leads to serious overkill
By Julie Deardorff
It's a comforting time to be a germ freak. In addition to anti-bacterial hand soaps and shampoos, the microbe-averse can buy bacteria-fighting clothes, toys, towels, sheets, sponges, mops and even pens.
Never mind that trillions of bacteria happily reside on our skins and noses and in our mouths and intestines. Or that some exposure to germs helps develop a healthy immune system.
In 2004, Americans spent more than $540 million on anti-bacterial soaps, hand cleaners and detergents that contain chemicals such as triclosan to kill germs, though a Food and Drug Administration panel found that they are no better than soap and water. People in health-care settings may see benefits, but not in the general population.
The issue isn't just that, for most of us, products impregnated with germ-fighting chemicals are a waste of money. It's not even that they could promote the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, something the Soap and Detergent Association maintains happens in the lab but not in the real world.
The association says people confuse anti-bacterial with antibiotic. If there were a link, the organization says, it likely would have been seen in settings such as hospitals, and it also says the rampant overuse of antibiotics by doctors to treat infection likely plays a far greater role in the rise of super-resistant bugs.
More disturbing is that the germ-fighting chemicals found in anti-bacterials, namely triclosan and triclocarban, are turning up in fish, breast milk and wastewater. Then they are released into the environment through municipal sludge, which is recycled and spread on agricultural fields.
Although this has been going on for the last 50 years, scientists only recently looked into what happens once the chemicals are flushed down the drain. This all concerns researchers such as Rolf Halden, assistant professor at the Center for Water and Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The United States Geological Survey has shown that triclosan, which mimics the thyroid hormone and is commonly added to soaps, toothpaste, deodorant, dog shampoo, cutting boards, clothing, toys and other anti-bacterial products, is present in 60 percent of U.S. waterways investigated.
Halden's studies showed a similar dispersal of triclocarban, triclosan's chemical brother, which is found mostly in deodorant bar soaps.
Both chemicals are known by several other names, and annually more than 1 million pounds of each are used in the U.S. alone.
Though the amounts turning up are minute, a recent study has shown it's enough to disrupt thyroid function in frogs. Equivalent data on humans isn't yet available.
As ingredients in products, the chemicals aren't necessarily harmful to humans, scientists say. But evidence is mounting that "these chemicals are remarkably persistent and possibly bioaccumulating, not only through products (applied to the skin) but environmentally through drinking water and potentially contaminated crops," said Halden, a member of the FDA panel that looked at the benefits and hazards of antiseptic hand soaps.
Now he and other scientists are asking: Do the potential benefits of anti-microbial products outweigh their possible environmental human health risks?
"Plain old soap and water also removes and kills micro-organisms and has done so for thousands of years," Halden said.
Also, anti-bacterial soaps don't prevent colds or flu, which are caused by viruses, not bacteria. And most experts say that unless you're in a hospital environment, using products with
triclosan - a biocide that can destroy biological structures at random - is like using a jackhammer to kill an ant.
The American Medical Association has opposed routine use of anti-bacterial soaps since 2002. This year, the
Canadian Pediatric Society asked parents to stop buying anti-bacterial products and instead use soap and water to wash toys, hands and household items. Allison Janse, co-author of the indispensable manual "The Germ Freak's Guide to Outwitting Colds and Flu" (Health Communications, $11.95 paper), points out that when you buy an anti-bacterial cutting board and put raw chicken on it, you've just contaminated it. Buying these products, she said, "may give some people a false sense of security."
There is a place for anti-bacterial products: a hospital. Think twice about using them in your home for everyday use, especially when soap and water are just as effective. And much cheaper.
© 2006, Chicago Tribune.
Vitamin C and Male Infertility
A study of the use of vitamin C in infertile men was
reported in Fertility and Sterility - 32(4), 455-9, 1979). The
study was conducted by W.A. Harris et al..
A group of 40 infertile men was divided into 2 groups.
The control group was given a placebo, while the other group was given
1g of ascorbic acid per day for 60 days. Even with this relatively low
supplementation, with the men taking the vitamin C, there was a 100%
pregnancy rate in their partners. There were no pregnancies in the
placebo group.
Although this is not a recent study, it is one of which
notice should be taken, because of its implications. Again, a small dose
of a simple supplement can have dramatic results. And at a fraction of
the costs associated with orthodox treatments for male infertility.
There are more recent studies which also show the
benefits of vitamin C supplementation in male infertility.
Reported in Journal of Assisted Reproduction and
Genetics (1994;11(7)375-8, Wun, W-S et al.) was a case study in
which supplementation with Vitamin C, B12
and folic acid restored sperm fertilising capacity in a previously
infertile male. This couple was involved in an IVF program and the
supplementation resulted in fertilisation without micro-manipulation.
from
CBS HealthWatch
Women aren't alone when it comes to fighting the biological clock. A new study shows that as men age they have a harder time helping their partners to conceive.
British researchers found the odds of conceiving a child in up to 6 months of trying decrease by 2% for every year that a man is over the age of 24. The study also found women whose partners are five or more years older than themselves have less chance of conceiving in under a year compared to women whose partners are the same age or younger.
"Our data suggests men's age doubles the chance of taking more than a year to conceive a pregnancy," says study author Chris Ford, PhD, of the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom. The study found the chance that it will take more than 12 months to conceive is around 8% when a man is under 25. That risk jumps to about 15% when he is over 35, but Ford says it still means men over 35 still have a 85% chance of achieving pregnancy within a year.
The study examined nearly 15,000 planned pregnancies from the Bristol area of England from 1991-92. Researchers say it is the first clear evidence that the age of the man, as well as the woman, is an important factor in conception.
"Women have a really dramatic drop off [in fertility] at age the age of 40, whereas men just carry on dwindling away slowly," says Ford.
Experts say the findings show a more dramatic decline in male fertility than they had expected.
"It's a more dramatic example of men's fertility being a greater issue than we thought of before--at least age-related fertility problems," says Dr. Peter Schlegel,
vice-chairman of urology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. "When you go from age 30 to 35 your relative fertility in women only drops about 10 or 20%. In this study, it suggests that as men go from age 25 to 35, it drops by about 50%."
Researchers say a number of factors seem to affect male fertility as they grow older. One of the biggest factors is that older men tend to have sex less often, which means they're less likely to have sex during a woman's fertile period, says Ford.
Genetic and environmental factors may also affect sperm production and decrease male fertility.
Ford says although his findings suggest male age-related fertility plays a bigger role in trying to have a baby than
previously thought, the overall message is that, "Couples with an older man perhaps need to learn to be more patient and not worry about it too much."
Ford's study is published in the current issue of the journal, Human Reproduction. |
