Viagra can destroy sperm!

Young couples should not abuse the
use of ViagraViagra is a drug some men use to get and keep an erection when sexually excited. As good as the drug may be, experts have warned that if used recreationally by a young man, it can damage his chances of impregnating a woman, reports Sade Oguntola.

Men that use the anti-impotence drug, Viagra, to boost their performance in bed may have to exhibit some caution in its use as some British experts have warned that the drug may affect their ability to father a child later in life.

Researchers at the Queen’s University in Belfast have found that young men, who take the anti-impotence drug recreationally, could be damaging their sperm quality, thus spoiling their chances of starting a family.

Dr David Glenn, a consultant gynaecologist at Queen’s University Belfast, carried out two experiments to find the effects of Viagra. Viagra was introduced in 1998 and since then it has been prescribed to millions of men. For those that use the drug for impotence and are not contemplating having a family, this has no implications on their fertility or ability to father a child. However, younger men are using it recreationally. It is mixed with cocaine, for example, and is sold in clubs.

In the first experiment, the researchers bathed sperm samples taken from 45 men attending a fertility clinic, treated half with a weak solution of Viagra, and used half as a control. This mimics the level of Viagra found in the blood of a man who has taken a single pill. They found that Viagra made sperm more active than untreated sperm, but it also appeared to damage the acrosome - the part containing the enzymes needed to break down the membrane surrounding a woman’s egg to allow sperm to fertilise it.

The other experiment found mice that were given Viagra produced 40 per cent fewer embryos than other mice. The study has raised concern that young men, who either take the drug regularly for impotence or recreationally could be unknowingly damaging their fertility. It further indicated that fertility clinics that give the drugs to patients could be making the problem worse.

They expressed concern, considering that Viagra and other like-drugs are widely available and are increasingly being used “recreationally” by young healthy men of reproductive age as sexual enhancers — not just by older men who have erectile dysfunction.

However, they said that there is need for further research to determine the full extent of the risk and the significance of the findings. Meanwhile, the possibility that this drug could damage the inner ear and hearing loss was reported in some subjects in some clinical trials, sometimes in just two days of drug consumption. Its common side effects also include headache, flushing, upset stomach, stuffy or runny nose diarrhoea and urinary tract infection.

Meanwhile, Professor Michael Chapman, a senior fertility specialist with IVF Australia, said the side effects of using the drug in IVF treatment to ensure that sperm can be harvested has not yet been demonstrated in humans, neither its long-lasting effect know.

He however cautioned that young man that use it regularly should dissuade from this, if they still intend to have more children. However, John Dean, secretary general of the European Society for Sexual Medicine, cautioned that laboratory results often do not reflect what actually happens in the body.

He said sperm is highly sensitive when removed from its natural environment. “Childless couples - and the general population - should be aware that in the five years that Viagra has been around, no overall detrimental effect on fertility has been observed.

The new finding has not surprised Australian fertility experts, who say young men who regularly use the drug should “be cautious” if they are planning a family. Meanwhile, in a reaction by Dr.Adekola Adebayo, an urologist formerly at the State Hospital, Ring road, Ibadan, Viagra is a relatively new drug and it is rather too short a time to know all it can be used for, as well as its possible complications. “From my experience in medical practice, I have not come across anybody that developed or that was said to have a poor sperm quality arising from the usage of the drug,” he stated.

“If it turns out to be true, it will be against wellheld belief that Viagra is very helpful in couple that may be having problem with their sexual relationship,” the expert said. In his opinion, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi of Nordical Fertility Clinic, Lagos, confirmed that Viagra is not a drug that people should use recreationally as many young men do, adding that it is true it can later affect their ability of having children later in life when abused.

“This is one drug that is not meant for recreation or sexual enhancer. It was developed to be use in older people with erectile problems and they are not supposed to be taking it too often. Even those that are relatively younger and with erectile dysfunction are even not expected to use it anyhow because of its effect on the sperm and the fact that it could tell on their sexual desire (libido). Viagra could damage its acrosome, the enzymes it contains and needed to break down the membrane surrounding a woman’s egg to allow sperm to fertilise it.”

Dr Ajayi said even though Viagra is given to some men that come for In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) for sperm production and so boost fertility results, he assured that it would not have any bad implication on the outcome of the IVF since they are only given the drug only once to help in sperm production.