September 24, 2008

expert comment on research into anti-depressants and semen quality to be reported in New Scientist

A study, to be presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in November, has found a correlation between the use of antidepressants for over four weeks and levels of genetic damage in sperm.

Dr Allan Pacey, Senior Lecturer in Andrology at the Unversity of Sheffield, said:

“There have been sporadic reports that anti-depressants could affect semen quality but individual case reports and conference abstracts are not helpful in helping us evaluate this risks. Here the authors appear to have investigated a larger number of presumably healthy men and given them a drug and noted its effect on sperm health four weeks later. The apparent increase in sperm DNA damage is alarming, although the level at which we think the damage becomes clinically significant is controversial to many scientists. It is a shame that the authors appear not to have conducted a randomized controlled trial which would be the most scientific way to investigate the drug’s effects, but I agree that the results are of concern and need to be investigated further.”