Category Archives: Human Reproduction

Drinking, smoking or being fat make little difference to how well a mans sperm cells can swim, a new study has found.

The peer-reviewed findings to be published on Wednesday in the medical journal Human Reproduction fly in the face of the common advice that men having fertility problems should stick to a healthier lifestyle.

The study looked at sperm samples from 2,249 British men recruited from fertility clinics and andrology labs.

The researchers found that men who wore briefs rather than boxer shorts, had testes surgery, or did manual work that would expose them to chemicals, were more likely to have a low motile sperm count.

However, no relation was found to consumption of alcohol, use of tobacco or recreational drugs or high body mass index, the article says.

In fact, having very low body mass index appeared to have a negative impact on sperm quality, although that sample size was too minute to be meaningful, the study said.

One of the researchers said the results suggest that men shouldnt wait until they have developed a healthier lifestyle before they try to procreate, especially if age is a crucial factor for their spouses.

Success in fertility treatment is an issue for the couple and not simply the male partner the prime issue in delaying treatment is that success drops dramatically with the age of the female partner, said Nicola Cherry, an epidemiologist at the University of Albertas faculty of medicine.

Guidelines from the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Guide to Infertility booklet produced by Assisted Human Reproduction Canada both say that smoking and alcohol consumption decrease success rates.

Perhaps where fertility treatment is prohibitively expensive it seems better to suggest a healthy lifestyle rather than just to advise, keep trying, Dr. Cherry said.

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Smoking, drinking, being overweight have little effect on sperm count: study

variety of beers

TUESDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- When a man drinks to excess, smokes or otherwise behaves unhealthily, it probably won't damage his sperm, a new British study contends.

But, fertility experts who reviewed the new report, published June 12 in Human Reproduction, weren't in full agreement with the findings.

"I am concerned that this limited and isolated study will convey the wrong message to couples desiring to become parents," said Dr. Natan Bar-Chama, director of the Center of Male Reproductive Health at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City.

The study included more than 2,200 men from 14 fertility clinics around the United Kingdom who completed detailed questionnaires about their lifestyle habits. The researchers compared this information to the levels of swimming sperm ejaculated by the men.

[Read: Fatty Foods May Harm Men's Sperm.]

Some factors did impact sperm health. For example, men who had low levels of swimming sperm were 2.5 times more likely to have had prior testicular surgery, twice as likely to be black, and 30 percent more likely to have manual labor jobs, not wear boxer shorts (vs. briefs or no underwear), or not to have previously conceived a child.

On the other hand, the researchers also found that men's weight and their use of tobacco, alcohol and recreational drugs had little effect on levels of swimming sperm.

"Despite lifestyle choices being important for other aspects of our health, our results suggest that many lifestyle choices probably have little influence on how many swimming sperm [men] ejaculate," Dr. Andrew Povey, from the University of Manchester's School of Community Based Medicine, said in a university news release.

The findings suggest that lifestyle advice given to infertile men needs to be changed, the researchers added.

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Heavy Drinking, Smoking Won't Harm Men's Sperm

Public release date: 12-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Aeron Haworth aeron.haworth@manchester.ac.uk 44-161-275-8383 University of Manchester

Lifestyle advice given by doctors to men diagnosed with infertility should be radically overhauled according to research published today (Wednesday).

Current guidelines from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence1 advise doctors to warn infertile men about the dangers of smoking, alcohol consumption and recreational drug use, as well as the risks of being overweight and wearing tight underwear.

However, a team of scientists from the Universities of Manchester and Sheffield have found that many common lifestyle choices make little difference to male fertility, based on how many swimming sperm men produce.

The study, published in the medical journal Human Reproduction, recruited 2,249 men from 14 fertility clinics around the UK2 and asked them to fill out detailed questionnaires about their lifestyle. The information was then compared between 939 men who ejaculated low numbers of swimming sperm and a control group of 1,310 men who produced higher numbers.

The research found that men who ejaculated low numbers of swimming sperm were 2.5 times more likely to have had testicular surgery, twice as likely to be of black ethnicity, and 1.3 times more likely to be in manual work, not wear boxer shorts, or not had a previous conception. Surprisingly, men's use of recreational drugs, tobacco and alcohol, as well as their weight measured by their body mass index (BMI), had little effect3.

Dr Andrew Povey, from the University of Manchester's School of Community Based Medicine, said: "Despite lifestyle choices being important for other aspects of our health, our results suggest that many lifestyle choices probably have little influence on how many swimming sperm they ejaculate. For example, whether the man was a current smoker or not was of little importance. The proportion of men who had low numbers of swimming sperm was similar whether they had never been a smoker or a smoker who was currently smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day. Similarly, there was little evidence of any risk associated with alcohol consumption.

"This potentially overturns much of the current advice given to men about how they might improve their fertility and suggests that many common lifestyle risks may not be as important as we previously thought. Delaying fertility treatment then for these couples so that they can make changes to their lifestyles, for which there is little evidence of effectiveness, is unlikely to improve their chances of a conception and, indeed, might be prejudicial for couples with little time left to lose."

In assessing male fertility, the team chose to use the number of swimming sperm men ejaculated because this broadly correlates with how fertile a man is likely to be and also often determines the type of fertility treatment that may be used if required.

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Unhealthy lifestyles have little impact on sperm quality

12 June 2012 Last updated at 19:45 ET By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News

Lifestyle advice given to tackle male infertility may be futile and could delay other options, according to researchers in the UK.

Their study in the journal Human Reproduction said smoking, alcohol consumption and being obese did not affect semen quality.

However, they warned that avoiding them was still "good health advice".

Wearing boxer shorts rather than tighter underwear was linked to higher sperm levels.

Advice for doctors by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence says men should be warned about the impact of smoking, drinking and taking recreational drugs on their sperm.

A study by researchers at the Universities of Sheffield and Manchester compared the lifestyles of 939 men with poor sperm quality with 1,310 men with normal sperm quality.

There is no need for them to become monks just because they want to be a dad

The study showed there was little difference in the number of mobile sperm between patients who never smoked and those who had a 20-a-day habit.

There was "little evidence" that recreational drug use, a high BMI or excessive alcohol consumption affected sperm quality.

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Booze and fags fine for fertility

Drinking, smoking or being fat make little difference to how well a mans sperm cells can swim, a new study has found.

The peer-reviewed findings to be published on Wednesday in the medical journal Human Reproduction fly in the face of the common advice that men having fertility problems should stick to a healthier lifestyle.

The study looked at sperm samples from 2,249 British men recruited from fertility clinics and andrology labs.

The researchers found that men who wore briefs rather than boxer shorts, had testes surgery, or did manual work that would expose them to chemicals, were more likely to have a low motile sperm count.

However, no relation was found to consumption of alcohol, use of tobacco or recreational drugs or high body mass index, the article says.

In fact, having very low body mass index appeared to have a negative impact on sperm quality, although that sample size was too minute to be meaningful, the study said.

One of the researchers said the results suggest that men shouldnt wait until they have developed a healthier lifestyle before they try to procreate, especially if age is a crucial factor for their spouses.

Success in fertility treatment is an issue for the couple and not simply the male partner the prime issue in delaying treatment is that success drops dramatically with the age of the female partner, said Nicola Cherry, an epidemiologist at the University of Albertas faculty of medicine.

Guidelines from the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Guide to Infertility booklet produced by Assisted Human Reproduction Canada both say that smoking and alcohol consumption decrease success rates.

Perhaps where fertility treatment is prohibitively expensive it seems better to suggest a healthy lifestyle rather than just to advise, keep trying, Dr. Cherry said.

More here:
Smoking, drinking, being fat have little effect on sperm count: study

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 11, 2012

A recent paper(1) by researchers at the Center for Human Reproduction (CHR) in New York City which describes reasonable live birth chances in women with extremely low ovarian reserve received the prestigious Austrian Hugo Husslein Prize. The prize is awarded biannually by the Austrian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The paper, published in the journal Human Reproduction, reports on the moderate but reasonable live birth chances in women with extremely low ovarian reserve, demonstrated by either completely undetectable or very low anti-Mllerian hormone (AMH) levels. Women in the study were also older, with mean age approaching 41. Despite these poor prognostic indicators, the authors were able to establish clinical pregnancies in 15.6% of these women.

With extremely low serum AMH levels, moderate but reasonable pregnancy and live birth rates are still possible. Extremely low AMH levels do not appear to represent an appropriate marker for withholding fertility treatment, concluded the paper.

Based on CHRs protocol, women in the study received DHEA supplementation prior to starting their IVF cycles. While the result of this study may not be applicable to women without DHEA supplementation, the results brings hope to women struggling to achieve pregnancy after 40, as well as to younger women with premature ovarian aging (POA).

It was a great honor to receive the prize, says Andrea Weghofer, MD, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University Vienna a Visiting Associate Scientist at CHR and lead author of the study. She continues: but the real honor was in demonstrating that these women, who are likely to be turned away by most fertility centers based on poor prognosis, can still be helped with their own eggs, with reasonable success rates.

This really echoes our philosophy at CHR, adds Norbert Gleicher, MD, Medical Director and Chief Scientist of CHR. We never turn away patients who fully understand their limited chances, and our entire clinical team literally fights for every egg and every embryo.

CHR, over the years, has made many breakthroughs in treating women with poor prognosis, who failed at other centers or have been refused treatments because of presumed small chances. The centers IVF success rates in such patients have been improving year to year, reaching another record height in 2011.

(1)Weghofer A, Dietrich W, Barad DH, Gleicher N. Live birth chances in women with extremely low serum anti-Mllerian hormone levels. Hum Reprod 2011;26(7):1905-9.

About Center for Human Reproduction The Center for Human Reproduction (CHR, http://www.centerforhumanreprod.com/), is one of the worlds leading fertility centers in New York City with international patient following. CHR has a worldwide reputation as the "fertility center of last resort," specializing in treatment of infertility in women with diminished ovarian reserve due to advanced age or due to premature ovarian aging (POA). Dr. Weghofer and Dr. Gleicher are available for further comments.

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CHR Paper Reporting on Live Birth Rates with Low AMH Levels Receives Prestigious Austrian Award