Male Fertility May Be Affected By Cell Phone Use

Men who have been diagnosed with poor sperm quality and who are trying to have children should limit their cell phone use. Researchers have found that while cell phone use appears to increase the level of testosterone circulating in the body, it may also lead to low sperm quality and a decrease in fertility.

"Our findings were a little bit puzzling," says Rany Shamloul, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and lead researcher on the project. "We were expecting to find different results, but the results we did find suggest that there could be some intriguing mechanisms at work."

The research team discovered that men who reported cell phone use had higher levels of circulating testosterone but they also had lower levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), an important reproductive hormone that is secreted by the pituitary gland in the brain.

The researchers hypothesize that electromagnetic waves (EMW) emitted by cell phones may have a dual action on male hormone levels and fertility. EMW may increase the number of cells in the testes that produce testosterone; however, by lowering the levels of LH excreted by the pituitary gland, EMW may also block the conversion of this basic circulating type of testosterone to the more active, potent form of testosterone associated with sperm production and fertility.

More in-depth research is needed to determine the exact ways in which EMW affects male fertility.

Source:
Christina Archibald
Queen's University

Laptops Can Seriously Affect A Man's Sperm Quality

Males who use laptops on their laps are likely to experience scrotal hyperthermia - elevated temperatures in their testicles - which can significantly affect the quality of their sperm, and consequently their fertility, US scientists report in the medical journal Fertility and Sterility. The authors add that even if they protect their laps with a lap pad, scrotal hyperthermia still occurs. The only way a male can be sure to protect his fertility when using a laptop is by placing it on a desk, using it with legs apart while using a lap pad for no longer than 28 minutes, or using the laptop on his lap with knees together for very short periods.

Yelim Sheynkin, M.D. (urologist) and team from the State University of New York at Stony Brook set out to evaluate how to prevent scrotal hyperthermia among male laptop users. Their study involved 29 health male volunteers.

The scientists measured the temperatures of the left and right side of the scrotum, as well as the laptop and lap pad during three separate 60-minute sessions - all the participants were using a laptop in the following ways:

· Sitting with their knees together (approximated legs) and the laptop on their laps

· Sitting with their knees together, laptop on lap, and with lap pad between their laptops and their laps

· Sitting with their legs apart at a 70° angle, laptop on lap, and with lap pad between their laptops and their laps

Their goal was to measure any rise in scrotal temperatures.

The authors wrote that scrotal temperatures went up considerably, in spite of the position of their legs and whether or not they used a lap pad.

Scrotal temperature did go up less and the rise occurred later when the men had their legs apart at a 70° angle. However, even then, the rise in scrotal temperature was cause for concern.

Below are some of the highlighted results:

· Knees together, laptop on lap (no lap pad)
Scrotal temperature rise - left side from 0.96C to 2.31C, right side from 0.91C to 2.56C.
The scrotum started rising in temperature within 11 minutes.

· Knees together, laptop on lap, using lap pad
Scrotal temperature rise - left side from 0.69C to 2.18C, right side from 0.72C to 2.06C.
The scrotum started rising in temperature within 14 minutes.

· Legs apart, laptop on lap, using lap pad
Scrotal temperature rise - left side from 0.66C to 1.41C, right side from 0.62C to 1.47C.
The scrotum started rising in temperature within 28 minutes.

The authors wrote in conclusion:

Sitting position with closely approximated legs is the major cause of scrotal hyperthermia. Scrotal shielding with a lap pad does not protect from scrotal temperature elevation. Prevention of scrotal hyperthermia in LC users presently is not feasible. However, scrotal hyperthermia may be reduced by a modified sitting position (legs apart) and significantly shorter use of LC.