ASRM:Press Release

Embargoed for Release:
Monday, October 15, 2007 2:30 pm Eastern Time

Contact:
Sean Tipton at 202-249-4200 or stipton@asrm-dc.org
Eleanor Nicoll at 202-249-4338 or enicoll@asrm-dc.org

Note: All Information is embargoed until the time of presentation at the meeting unless otherwise indicated.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 63RD ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE

Influences on Male Reproductive Function

Washington, DC- Researchers at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine today presented studies examining influences that can affect men’s reproductive capacity. Dietary choices, management of obesity, decisions about abstinence from ejaculation– all can come into play when assessing a man’s reproductive capacity and determining his treatment plan.

In animals, isoflavones from soy products have been found to decrease fertility when consumed in large amounts, but there have been fewer studies on humans. Jorge Chavarro, MD and his colleagues in Boston investigated the effect soy-derived foods and isoflavones have on human semen quality and found that consumption of soy foods and isoflavones is linked to lower sperm concentration. One hundred men, members of subfertile couples, had semen analyses and answered questionnaires on their consumption of 15 soy-based foods for the preceding three months. Men with the highest soy food intake (average 0.5 serving/day) had 41 million sperm per milliliter less than men who did not consume any soy. Measured sperm motility and morphology were not affected by the men’s soy consumption.

Obesity in men can result in a hormonal profile in which they exhibit elevated levels of estradiol and suppressed levels of male sex hormones, but researchers at the University of Utah have found that weight loss instigated by gastric bypass surgery (GBS) can reverse this abnormal hormonal profile. Hormonal profiles of men in the Utah Obesity Study who underwent GBS shortly after recruitment were compared with those of men who did not undergo the surgery. All of the men, surgery patients and controls, had blood tests, body measurements and answered detailed questionnaires at the time of recruitment and two years later. At the study’s start, all 64 patients exhibited increased estradiol and decreased testosterone correlated with their body mass index. Two years later, the patients who had GBS had lost an average of 119.9 kilograms each and their testosterone levels had risen and their estradiol levels had fallen significantly.

Although fertility patients often are instructed to abstain from ejaculation for a period of time to obtain an optimal sperm count, some studies have found an association between increased time of abstinence and increased sperm DNA damage. It is thought that the damage results from increased exposure of the sperm to reactive oxygen species in the epididymus. An Australian pilot study determined that daily ejaculation over seven days can result in a 12% average reduction in sperm DNA fragmentation. David Greening, MB, ChB of Sydney IVF recruited 42 patients with abnormal sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) results from a group of couples being investigated for recurrent miscarriage or repeated IVF failure. The patients had a baseline semen analysis and SCSA after three days abstinence from ejaculation. A second semen sample was tested after a seven day regimen of daily ejaculation. Thirty-seven of the patients showed decreased sperm DNA fragmentation after the seven days of daily ejaculation; five showed increased sperm DNA fragmentation. Sperm morphology and motility were not significantly affected but average total sperm count dropped from 201.76 million per milliliter to 67.6 million per milliliter.

Researchers in Brazil found practical advantage in advising patients to abstain from ejaculating for a shorter time prior to ICSI procedures. Patients with non-male factor infertility who were having IVF with ICSI were divided into seven groups according to days of sexual abstinence. They found that the second highest fertilization rate, the best embryo quality scores and the highest pregnancy rate belonged to the group in which the male partner abstained for only one day before producing the semen sample used in the case.

It’s awkward, but necessary. If a man is required to produce a semen sample for an assisted reproductive procedure or for testing and his home is too far from the clinic, he will be sent to the SCR- the semen collection room. To determine how onerous this experience is for patients and how it could be improved, nurses at Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Center for Reproductive Medicine devised a survey. The survey was given to the male partners of IVF patients in the first half of 2007 on the day of egg retrieval after they had used the SCR. The men were told of the Center’s plans to make changes in the SCR and that the nurses were seeking feedback and suggestions. One hundred surveys were submitted anonymously. While the men surveyed were generally satisfied with the collection room at the Center for Reproductive Medicine, they expressed dissatisfaction with the level of sound privacy and concerns about privacy, furnishings, cleanliness, and availability and condition of the adult materials. Overall, they expressed preferences for face-to-face instructions over written instructions and video/DVD over other media with heterosexual sex as the preferred theme.

"A large number of lifestyle factors may influence a patient’s fertility,” noted Steven J. Ory, MD, President of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, “It is important that physicians take this into account when seeking their histories to provide the most appropriate advice."

O-58, Chavarro et al, Soy food and isoflavone intake in relation to semen quality parameters.

O-3, Hammoud et al, Effect of weight loss after Roux-en-y gastric bypass surgery on the male reproductive hormonal profile.

O-52, Greening, Frequent ejaculation, a pilot study of changes in sperm DNA damage and semen parameters using daily ejaculation.

P-440, Colturato et al, Influence of sexual abstinence length on sperm parameters and on IVF outcomes in ICSI assisted treatment cycles.

P-436, Levy and Campbell, The men’s lounge improvement project: what do men really want?

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, founded in 1944, is an organization of more than 8,000 physicians, researchers, nurses, technicians, and other professionals dedicated to advancing knowledge and expertise in reproductive biology. Affiliated societies include the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, The Society for Male Reproduction and Urology, the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, and the Society of Reproductive Surgeons.

Note: All Information is embargoed until the time of presentation at the meeting unless otherwise indicated.

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