Low Sperm Count May Be Associated with Prenatal Testosterone Excess

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Chevy Chase, MD — Exposure to an excess of sexual steroids, like testosterone, during fetal development may be a potential risk factor for low sperm count and motility, according to a new study accepted for publication in Endocrinology, a journal of The Endocrine Society.

"The majority of disorders affecting sperm count in humans are originated during fetal life" said Professor Sergio Recabarren of the University of Concepcion in Chillan, Chile and lead author of the study. "A developing fetus is very vulnerable to its environment, and when that environment is exposed to excess sexual steroids, it may have a significant deleterious effect on a male offspring’s fertility"

Prenatal exposure to excess sexual steroids can occur in two ways, said Dr. Recabarren. First, the exposure may be a product of increased sexual steroids in the maternal environment due to a hormonal condition such as polycystic ovary syndrome. Second, humans are exposed to several industrial pollutants which can act as steroid mimics, causing the body to inhibit or accelerate native steroid production.

In this study, researchers treated pregnant sheep with 30 mg testosterone propionate twice weekly from days 30 to 90 of pregnancy and with 40 mg testosterone propionate from days 90 to 120 of pregnancy. They found a significant reduction in body weight, scrotal circumference, and sperm count in male sheep born to these mothers compared with control sheep.

"While this research involved sheep, it can certainly be argued that in humans, exposure to an excess of sexual steroids during fetal development could constitute a potential risk factor that may conduct to a low sperm count" said Dr. Recabarren.

Low sperm counts are also associated with testicular cancer, with an incidence rate 20 fold higher than men with normal sperm analysis, said Dr. Recabarren. The findings from this study highlight growing concerns of the detrimental effects of prenatal steroid excess on reduced sperm counts.

A rapid release version of this article, "Prenatal Testosterone Excess Reduces Sperm Count and Motility" has been published on-line and will appear in the December issue of Endocrinology.

Source: http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=75681

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Growth Hormones in Beef Linked to Infertility

Exposure to growth hormones in beef could be putting Americans at risk for infertility. A recent study found that women who routinely ate beef were far more likely to give birth to boys who grow up to have lower-than-normal sperm counts. Yet despite the fact that infertility might be linked to the use of growth hormones in beef, these dangerous drugs are used by the cattle industry at an alarming rate in the U.S.

Conventional livestock producers have been administering growth hormones to beef cattle since the 1950s. More than half a century later, six anabolic steroids-three natural and three synthetic-are given, in a variety of combinations, to nearly all animals in conventional feedlots in the U.S. and Canada. The three natural steroids used are estradiol, testosterone, and progesterone and the three synthetic hormones used are the estrogen compound, zeranol; the androgen, trenbolone acetate; and progestin melengestrol acetate. The steroids are typically used in combinations. Measurable levels of all of these growth-promoting hormones are found in the muscle, fat, liver, kidneys, and other organ meats we routinely eat at meal time, yet questions and controversy over the impacts of these added hormones on human development and health have lingered for four decades and remain unexamined and unanswered.

In 1988, the European Union banned the use of all hormone growth promoters; however, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set Acceptable Daily Intakes (ADIs) for these animal drugs. ADIs are based on traditional toxicity testing methods and do not reflect the capacity of these drugs, which are potent endocrine disruptors, to alter fetal and childhood development. The possible effects on humans exposed to residues of anabolic sex hormones through meat consumption have never been studied; however, it is recognized and accepted that the fetus and the pre-pubertal child are particularly sensitive to exposure to sex steroids. Unbelievable, given that every beef-eating person for over 50 years has been exposed to these hormones on a regular basis.

The lack of data on the safety of human consumption of anabolic steroids in meat prompted analysis via a large, multi-center pregnancy cohort study-the-Study for Future Families (SFF)-comparing pregnant women’s beef consumption relative to their sons semen parameters. Researchers divided pregnant women into two groups: A high beef consumption group of women who consumed more than seven beef meals per week and a low beef consumption group who consumed fewer than seven beef meals per week. Once the male babies were born and reached a stage where they produced sperm, researchers compared sperm concentrations and quality to men born to women in the high and low beef consumption groups. Of the 773 men who provided semen samples, 387 were from mothers from the high beef consumption group, and 386 were from mothers from the low beef consumption group. Research revealed that sperm volume was 24.3 percent higher in the sons of mothers in the low beef consumption group, nearly 18 percent of the sons born to women in the high beef consumption group had sperm concentrations even below the World Health Organization threshold for sub fertility-about three-times more the sons of women in the low consumption group.

Authors of the study concluded that the findings suggest that maternal beef consumption is associated with lower sperm concentration and possible sub fertility, associations that may be related to the presence of anabolic steroids and other xenobiotics in beef, lending credence and urgency to the long-recognized need for the FDA to reconsider growth hormone ADIs in beef.

Source: http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/2159

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Low-dose dexamethasone augments the ovarian response to exogenous gonadotrophins leading to a reduction in cycle cancellation rate in a standard IVF p

BACKGROUND: Cancellation of assisted conception cycles because of poor ovarian response to gonadotrophins is a significant problem in assisted reproduction. Various adjuvant treatments have been suggested to improve responsiveness. This study reports on the potential benefits of low dose dexamethasone.

METHODS: Patients less than 40 years of age were invited to participate in a twin centre prospective double blind randomized placebo controlled study. A total of 290 patients were recruited and computer randomized using sealed envelopes to receive either 1 mg dexamethasone (n = 145) or placebo tablets (n = 145) in addition to a standard long protocol gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue with gonadotrophin stimulation regime.
RESULTS: A significantly lower cancellation rate for poor ovarian response was observed in the dexamethasone group compared with controls (2.8 versus 12.4% respectively, P <>Further comparisons between the dexamethasone group and controls were made of median fertilization rates (60 versus 61% respectively, NS), implantation rates (16.3 versus 11.6% respectively, NS) and pregnancy rate per cycle started (26.9 versus 17.2%, NS). The benefit was apparent in patients both with polycystic and normal ovaries.

CONCLUSION: Low dose dexamethasone co-treatment reduces the incidence of poor ovarian response. It may increase clinical pregnancy rates and should be considered for inclusion in stimulation regimes to optimize ovarian response.

Source: http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/16/9/1861