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Back to Fertility Conference Calendar
Conference Highlights
October 15-19, 2005. Montréal,
Québec.
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The Conjoint Meeting Of The American Society For Reproductive Medicine And
The Canadian Fertility And Andrology Society.
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Montreal, Quebec – Researchers at the conjoint meeting of the
American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the Canadian
Fertility and Andrology Society today presented their work on
the way different lifestyle choices, environmental factors, and
medications can affect male fertility.
Researchers from Yale University School of Medicine and the
University of Connecticut reported results of their review of
male infertility patients seen over a 10 year period who had a
history of anabolic steroid abuse. They found that not all
patients who have a history of anabolic steroid abuse are
infertile and that, for many, fertility returns after steroid
use ceases. This recovery may require hormonal treatment, but
can also happen spontaneously. The researchers examined the
records of 15 patients with a clear history of self-administered
steroid use and an average age of 33. Eleven of the 15 had the
low testosterone levels and low levels of FSH and lutenizing
hormone expected for steroid abusers; four with normal hormone
levels had other causes contributing to their infertility. Nine
of the 11 were azoospermic; they did not have any sperm in their
ejaculates, while two had low sperm counts. Seven of the nine
azoospermic patients resumed sperm production after they ceased
steroid use; five of these required hormonal treatment; the
other two resumed spermatogenesis spontaneously. ***
Scientists in Sao Paulo, Brazil have found a correlation
between urban levels of air pollution and a decrease in the
male-female sex ratio at birth for mice and humans. Birth
registries were consulted for the number of babies born between
January 2001 and December 2003 in the areas monitored for
pollution. In the least polluted areas 51.7% of the babies born
were male; in the most polluted areas the percentage of males
born decreased to 50.7%. In a corresponding experimental study
using mice, male mice were housed for the first four months of
their life in either a filtered air-chamber or were exposed to
unfiltered ambient air. After four months both groups were mated
with female mice that had not been exposed to pollution. Males
from the filtered air environment produced offspring with a 1.34
male/female ratio, while males that had been exposed to polluted
air produced offspring with a 0.86 male/female ratio. In
addition, spermatogenesis in the mice exposed to air pollution
was negatively affected.
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At the University at Buffalo, in Buffalo, NY, researchers have
demonstrated that chronic exposure to nicotine and tobacco smoke
results in a significant loss in the fertilizing capacity of
sperm. The researchers examined whether the sperm of chronic
tobacco smokers was defective in binding ton the human zona
pellucida (the outer membrane of the egg). The sperm from 18 men
who had each smoked more than 4 cigarettes a day for two or more
years (average 15.6 years) was compared to the sperm of screened
research donors (controls) in the Hemizona Assay (HZA). In this
test, non-viable donor oocytes were halved, then one half of
each egg was incubated with a smoker’s sperm, while the matching
half was incubated with control sperm. After incubation, the egg
halves were examined and the numbers of sperm tightly bound to
the zona pellucida were counted and compared. Two thirds of the
smokers failed the HZA; their fertilizing capacity was just 25%
that of the donors. An index representing the relative amount of
smoking that a subject had done in his life was calculated for
each smoker by multiplying the number of cigarettes per day by
number of years smoking. Of those with the lower index scores,
71% passed the HZA; only 18% of the heavier smokers passed.
Michigan scientists investigated whether there was a
connection between metal levels in the blood and semen
parameters of men who ate fish caught in the Great Lakes. They
analyzed data from 144 study participants who had submitted
blood for testing levels of 12 metals, semen for analysis, and
questionnaire detailing their fish consumption history. Men with
a history of any fish consumption in the preceding 12 months
showed high levels of mercury in their blood. But this was not
restricted to consumers of Great Lakes fish; high mercury levels
were even more strongly associated with consumption of ocean
fish. However no association was found between sperm
concentration or motility and any metal.
Researchers at the National Institute for Child Health and
Human Development and Walter Reed Army Medical Center found that
regular use of ibuprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug
(NSAID) does not affect semen parameters and clinical pregnancy
rates in assisted reproductive technology patients. In the past,
experiments in mice and cattle have shown that NSAIDs decrease
the production of prostoglandins, components of seminal fluid,
without affecting sperm counts or motility. Patients having
semen analyses at the clinic completed a survey including
questions on use of medication- daily use was considered to be
regular use. Sixty-eight (6.3%) of 1082 patients were regular
users of ibuprofen. When their semen parameters, use of ICSI,
and clinical pregnancy rates for ART were compared to
intermittent and non-users of ibuprofen, no differences emerged.
In a prospective controlled study using sperm from normal
donors and four brands of vaginal lubricants (Pre-Seed®,
FemGlide®, Replens®, Astroglide®) often recommended to fertility
patients, researchers found that one brand does not cause a
significant decrease in sperm motility or damage to chromatin
integrity, while the others do. In the first experiment for
motility, donor sperm were incubated for 30 minutes in medium
free of lubricant and in medium containing 10% vaginal
lubricant. Sperm motility was measured after incubation and
ranged from 66% in the lubricant-free control medium to 2% in
medium containing Astroglide®. The best performing lubricant in
this experiment was Pre-Seed® with 64% motile sperm after
incubation. In the second experiment to gauge chromatin damage
caused by the lubricants, donor sperm were incubated in
lubricant-free medium as a positive control , in medium
containing 10% KY® as a negative control and in medium
containing one of two lubricants, Pre-Seed® and FemGlide® .
After four hours incubation the sperm were evaluated for damage
to their genetic material and graded in accordance with the DNA
fragmentation index. Pre-Seed® demonstrated the smallest
increase in chromatin damage with a 7% increase over the
control.
Researchers from Reproductive Biology Associates in Atlanta
report that a high body mass index (BMI) in men correlates with
reduced testosterone levels. Patients’ heights and weights were
recorded on the day their blood was drawn to test for
reproductive hormones. Patients’ BMIs were calculated and they
were grouped into the published ranges for normal, overweight,
and obese. Average testosterone levels were calculated for each
group and it was discovered that overweight men have levels 24%
lower than men of normal weight and obese men have levels 26%
lower. Men with high BMI typically are found to have an abnormal
semen analysis as well.
Peter Schlegel, MD, President of the Society for Male
Reproduction and Urology remarked, “These presentations reflect
the wide range of factors that can affect a man’s fertility and
show that men, like women, face many risks to their fertility
that they can control. While some risks are beyond the
individual’s ability to influence, we recommend that people do
what they can to stay healthy and avoid choices, like smoking,
that are known dangers to health and men’s fertility.”
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P-203 Cohen and Honig, Anabolic Steroid Associated Infertility:
A Potentially Treatable and Reversible Cause of Male Infertility
O-31 Lictenfels et al, Evidences of a Decreased Male/Female
Ration in Humans and Mice with Increasing Levels of Air
Pollution in the City of Sao Paulo
O-32 Burkman et al, The Sperm from Most Chronic Tobacco Smokers
Exhibit a Significant Decline in the Ability to Bind to the
Human Egg
O-33 Wirth et al, Metal Levels in Blood Samples from Male Great
Lake Fish Consumers
O-34 Robinson et al, Regular Use of Ibuprofin Does Not Affect
Semen Parameters, Need for ICSI, or ART Clinical Pregnancy Rate
O-177 Agarwal et al, Changes in Sperm Motility and Chromatin
Integrity Following Contact with Vaginal Lubricants
O-179 Roudebush et al, Men with High Body Mass Index Values
Present with Lower Serum Testosterone Levels
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