Monday, November 2, 2009

Fertility Talk: Propecia May Reduce Male Fertility


One of the goals of this blog is to collect news stories about fertility issues. There certainly is more information out there than anyone can keep track of. But, it is nice to have some of the more unusual or interesting stories collected in one place.

This one surprised me, and is something I could easily see causing problems for some of the couple who come in to see me for fertility issues. Propecia (used to prevent hair loss, and a very commonly prescribed drug)can reduce semen volume and affect fertilty in men.

A back ground quote from NetDoctor:

Primary infertility is an extremely common problem, affecting more than one in seven (15 per cent) couples attempting their first pregnancy. Among those experiencing difficulty with conception, a male fertility problem is considered important in around 40 per cent of couples. In 15 per cent of couples it will be solely a male fertility problem and in around 25 per cent, there will be a problem in both partners.
And a comment from Dr. Turek, one of the leaders in the study and treatment of male infertility:
“The FDA does not require fertility studies of these drugs, and it has been the suspicion of most of us in the field that if you take this drug for more than five years then you might consider stopping it because it does look like a player in decreasing spermatogenesis.”

click below for the full article:
Renal&Urology News

Byron Russell

1 comment:

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