Diabetic men were nearly three times more likely to suffer from sperm apoptosis (break-up of the DNA) than non-diabetics. Higher miscarriage rates in couples may also be seen due to fragmented or broken DNA. ‘It is known that diabetic men may take a longer time to bring about conception in their wives who may also be prone to a higher incidence of miscarriage,’ said Dr Firuza Parikh, director, department of assisted reproduction and genetics, Jaslok Hospital.

The study, which was presented at a seminar on Male Infertility conducted by the centre last week, has found that in diabetes the DNA of the sperm is damaged due to oxidative stress which releases cell death accelerating ions in the body.

The sperm count, motility and morphology (sperm structure) of 60 diabetics and 78 non-diabetics in the age group of 25 to 45 years were studied by Dr Parikh and his team at the assisted reproduction and genetics department. According to Dr Prochi Madon, head, genetics lab at the centre, all these men were newly-diagnosed diabetics who had come to the clinic for infertility treatment. The study which was initiated three years ago found that DNA damage in the diabetic group was 15.9% as compared to 6.4% among the non-diabetic group. The study also found that in diabetics the sperm’s motility was 22% as against 46% in healthy individuals. Also, the sperm count diabetic men was less than half of that of the healthy group. 92% of the diabetic men had abnormal sperm structure as opposed to 11% of the normal group.

According to Dr Arundhati Athalye and Dr Meenal Khandeparkar, the study underlined the need to perform routine DNA fragmentation testing in every diabetic patient seeking infertility treatment. There is a need to assess if antioxidants in tablet form can improve the sperm quality to reduce oxidative stress on the sperm, said Dr Arundhati Athalye, principal investigator of the study.

Falling sperm counts are a ‘serious public health warning’, and the trend could be linked to diet, lifestyle and possibly even tight underwear, a major French study has revealed. The study showed that sperm counts and quality have fallen sharply since the start of the 1990s.  Between 1989 and 2005, average sperm counts fell by a third in the study of 26,000 men, increasing their risk of infertility. 

The amount of healthy sperm was also reduced, by a similar proportion, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday. The study is important because, with over 26,600 men involved, it is probably the largest studied sample in the world. The findings also confirm research over the past 20 years that has shown sperm counts declining in many countries across the world.

The fact that the decline was progressive over the 17-year period indicates the problem is on-going, the researchers said.

Source: IANS

The numbers of sperm per ml of semen fell at about two percent a year between 1989 and 2005, with researchers calculating the average 35-year-old man would see his sperm count reduced from around 73.6 million per ml of semen to 49.9 million, the journal Human Reproduction reports. At the same time, the proportion of normally-formed sperm declined by about a third. 

The French authors said the study was the first to identify a long-term “severe and general decrease” in sperm concentration and quality at the scale of a whole country, according to the Telegraph. They added: “This constitutes a serious public health warning. The link with the environment particularly needs to be determined.” The scientists analysed data from semen samples collected from 126 fertility clinics throughout France. All the couples involved were seeking treatment because of female problems rather than obvious difficulties linked to sperm.

Joelle Le Moal, researcher from the Institut de Veille Sanitaire in Saint Maurice, said: “The decline in semen concentration shown in our study means that the average values we have for 2005 fall within the ‘fertile’ range for men according the definition of the World Health Organisation (WHO).” ”However, this is just an average, and there were men in the study who fell beneath the WHO values. The 2005 values are lower than the 55 million per millilitre threshold, below which sperm concentration is expected to influence the time it takes to conceive,” said Sanitaire.

Source: IANS

The team led by Moira O’Bryan, professor from Monash University’s School of Biomedical Sciences in Austraia, found that mutated RABL2 resulted in sperm tails 17 percent shorter than normal, lowering sperm production by 50 percent.

O’Bryan said the research fitted another piece in the jigsaw puzzle of sperm development. “The mutations in the RABL2 gene are very likely to cause infertility,” said O’Bryan, the journal Public Library of Science Genetics reports.

‘Further, as motility is absolutely essential for fertility, insights into tail function may reveal options for urgently needed male-based contraception,’ added O’Bryan, according to a Monash statement.

Doctoral student and study co-author Jennifer Lo, also from the School of Biomedical Sciences, said RABL2 worked with other molecules known as intraflagellar transport proteins that carry genetic cargo along the sperm tail.

‘Intraflagellar transport proteins are like a train. Our data suggests that the reloading of the train is defective if RABL2 dysfunctions. The train is still running in sperm tails with dysfunctional RABL2, but it contains fewer passengers. The end result is that sperm formation and motility are abnormal,’ added Lo.

Lo said that as mutations in RABL2 decrease sperm count and sperm swimming ability, it may be possible to inhibit this protein in a future male pill.

Source: IANS

There is a common misconception that low sperm count and libido are linked. According to experts, there’s no connection between a man’s sexual drive and his sperm count.  Doctors say that there is no connection between a man’s sexual drive and low sperm count. All men with lower sperm count are not likely to have lower libido due to lower testosterone. “A man with a high libido or sex drive may suffer from low sperm count. The two aren’t connected,” said fertility expert Dr Sonia Malik.

An extremely urbanised lifestyle with a rise in cases of obesity and diabetes are responsible for these cases.  “Although only one sperm is needed to fertilize an egg, several studies have shown that its fertilizing ability starts diminishing if the sperm concentration is below 15 million/ml or if the percentage of normal spermatozoa is below 5% (an average ejaculation contains about 66 million per ml). However, men can produce new sperm every 68-74 days and in case of an abnormal sperm test it should be repeated to confirm the results. On the contrary, women are born with a fixed egg number, which declines with age especially after 35 years,” Dr Rohatgi said.

A new study by scientists from the U S Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on Tuesday found that a healthy intake of micronutrients is associated with improved sperm DNA quality in older men.

A study conducted by AIIMS found that majority of men who were exposed to high temperature at their work place — welders, dyers, blast furnace workers, cement and steel factories — were more prone to infertility.

Additional environmental heat increases the temperature of the scrotum, causing a negative effect on sperm production. AIIMS doctors say a one degree elevation in testicular temperature leads to 14% depression of spermatogenesis. Experts say the normal temperature of the testes is three degrees lesser than the core body temperature (37 degrees Celsius or 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

“Not only has quantity of sperm production declined in males across the world, there has been a decrease in motility (sperm movement) and morphology (shape and structure) of the sperms. There has been a 2% decrease in quality of male sperm annually. Also, 40% men in reproductive age group are recording a quantitative and qualitative decline in sperm quality. Stress also decreases the hormones that stimulate spermatogenesis,” said Dr Rima Dada from AIIMS. 

Dr Malik conducted a 10-year comparison study on sperm quality and quantity (2000-2001 to 2010-2011) in Southend Fertility and IVF Centre. According to her study, the percentage of semen ejaculation which is considered less than normal (below 4 ml) increased from 34% to 65% and most suitable ejaculation volume (more than 4ml) went down from 15% to 3%.  As far as morphology of sperm was concerned, in 2000-2001, 26% of the sperms showed above 60% normality, whereas in 2000-2011 this reduced to 7%.

Inspired by Vicky Donor? Get your sperm donation facts right.

Fertility Treatments: What are the side-effects?

“This compound produces a rapid and reversible decrease in sperm count and motility with profound effects on fertility,” said James Bradner of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, who co-authored the study with Martin Matzuk from Baylor College of Medicine. A male birth control pill has not been easy to come by in large part because of the challenge of getting any drug across the blood-testis barrier, where it can reach the sperm-generating cells, according to a Dana-Faber statement.

Known as JQ1, the compound developed in the Bradner lab works by targeting a testis-specific protein called BRDT that is vital for fertility. When mice are given the BRDT-inhibiting molecule, they begin producing fewer sperm and those sperm they do produce do not swim as well. “This is a good reason to get excited about low sperm counts,” said Matzuk from Baylor. JQ1 indeed works as effective contraception. The small molecule also comes without any apparent adverse effects on the males’ future offspring. “There has not been a new reversible contraceptive for men since the development of the condom,” notes William Bremner from the University of Washington, Seattle in a commentary in which he refers to Matzuk and Bradner’s contraceptive method as “a breakthrough new approach”.

Source: IANS

Weight loss can delay or avoid the onset of diabetes among those men who are most susceptible to the disease. But scientists said the boost to their sex lives could be the added incentive men need to exercise and diet. The study found levels of testosterone went up in direct proportion to the number of pounds lost and the decrease in waist size.

Source: IANS