In Vitro Fertility Goddess.
Tuesday 30 September 2008
Source: American Society for Reproductive Medicine
Certain anti-depressant drugs can harm male fertility by damaging the sperm's DNA makeup.
US scientists at the Cornell Medical Centre in New York looked at 35 men who were prescribed the anti-depressant drug Paroxetine, also known as Seroxat in Britain and Aropax in Australia, over a period of five weeks.
And only four weeks into the trial, they discovered the men's sperm had twice as much genetic damage as at the start of the study with the amount of genetic fragmentation in sperm rising from about 14% before the trial to over 30%.
Lead researcher Dr Peter Schlegel explains:
"If you look at normal sperm counts and motility, the standard measures of fertility, you saw no changes, but if you looked at sperm DNA, the genetic material in more detail you actually found dramatic changes in almost half of the men, normal men, who are on this drug".
The findings reinforce previous research which has already found a link between male infertility and the consumption of certain drugs. The same researchers reported two years ago that the antidepressants citalopram and sertraline reduced sperm counts in men and that their sperm counts returned to normal once they stopped taking the drugs. Other research has also found environmental factors such as exposure to certain chemicals and heat sources can impact on men's fertility.
But the new findings come with a word of caution from psychiatrists who believe male patients to not abruptly stop their medication and seek professional advice before doing so.
Sarah Williams
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