Is Viagra A Useful Fertility Drug?
Do you take Viagra for erectile dysfunction, thinking this medication may help your wife to conceive? Think again. It seems that Viagra has just the opposite effect: it reduces male fertility by making it difficult for sperm to fertilize eggs. This is according to a Belfast study conducted at Queen's University. The results of the study have been published in the medical journal Fertility and Sterility.
Popular Drug
In order to assess the effects of this popular drug on sperm cells, the researchers performed two experiments. In the first of these two studies, samples of human sperm were immersed in a dilute Viagra solution. The strength of the Viagra solution was intended to replicate the blood concentration of this medication as it would be found in someone who takes a standard dose of a 100 milligram Viagra pill.
The researchers discovered that the sperm in the dilute Viagra solution sped up their activity. However, during this time, the sperm incurred damage to their acrosomes. The acrosome is the head of the sperm and contains enzymes that serve to dissolve the membrane surrounding eggs to make them penetrable so that the sperm can gain entry for fertilization.
According to Viagra's official website, the medication is said not to interfere with male fertility. But the experiments at Queen's University Belfast are putting this claim to the test. In the second experiment, the researchers decided to see if the apparent damage to the acrosome caused by Viagra would affect conception rates.
The researchers compared the fertilization rates of two sets of male mice. One group was given Viagra while the second group served as a control. The mice that were treated with Viagra had 40% fewer fertilized embryos than the control group of mice who received no medication.
Lead author of this study, David Glenn, comments that lots of fertility clinics prescribe Viagra to their male patients with erectile dysfunction, with no clue that this medication causes actual harm to their clients' fertility. Couples may be using Viagra for erectile dysfunction alone, but silently hoping that the medication will help them conceive. Instead, the medication stymies these efforts at conception. Meantime, no one knows the long term effects of Viagra on male fertility.
Recreational Use
Glenn also says that Viagra has evolved over time into a recreational drug. He cites the fact that Viagra is often mixed with cocaine, for instance, and sold in night clubs. The researcher would like to get across the idea that taking Viagra over time may impact on a man's future fertility.
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