SSRI Antidepressants Linked To Male Infertility
by S. L. Baker, features writer

(NaturalNews) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning a few years ago that pregnant women taking the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant paroxetine risk giving birth to infants with major birth defects, including heart abnormalities ( http://www.naturalnews.com/021225_P...).
 
Now comes word that the same drug (sold as Paxil, Paxil CR, Seroxat, Pexeva, and generic paroxetine hydrochloride) carries another danger that could keep babies from being born in the first place. A new study just published in the online edition of the journal Fertility and Sterility concludes as many as fifty percent of all men taking the antidepressant could have damaged sperm and compromised fertility.

New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical Center researchers followed 35 healthy male volunteers who took paroxetine for five weeks. Then sperm samples from the men were studied using an assay called terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) to evaluate whether there were missing pieces of genetic code in the sperm DNA. This condition, know as DNA fragmentation, is associated with reproductive problems.

The results? The percentage of men with abnormal DNA fragmentation soared from less than 10 percent to 50 percent while taking the antidepressant. This is a crucial finding because DNA fragmentation has long been known to correlate with an increased risk of birth defects, poor fertility and unsuccessful pregnancy outcomes -- even when high tech, extraordinarily expensive fertility enhancing techniques such as in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection are used.

The study, one of the first scientific investigations into the effect of SSRIs on sperm quality, also confirmed that paroxetine impairs sexual function. More than a third of the research subjects reported significant changes in erectile function and about half had difficulty ejaculating.

"It's fairly well known that SSRI antidepressants negatively impact erectile function and ejaculation. This study goes one step further, demonstrating that they can cause a major increase in genetic damage to sperm," Dr. Peter Schlegel, the study's senior author and chairman of the Department of Urology and professor of reproductive medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, explained in a statement to the media. "Although this study doesn't look directly at fertility, we can infer that as many as half of men taking SSRIs have a reduced ability to conceive. These men should talk with their physician about their treatment options, including non-SSRI depression medications."

The scientists could not identify the exact way the SSRI caused the DNA fragmentation, but the evidence strongly suggests the drug slows sperm as it moves through the male reproductive tract from the testis to the ejaculatory ducts. When this happens, the sluggish sperm grows old and its DNA becomes damaged.

"This is a new concept for how drugs can affect fertility and sperm. In most cases, it was previously assumed that a drug damaged sperm production, so the concept that sperm transport could be affected is novel," Dr. Schlegel stated.

The study contains some good news for men currently on Paxil and related drugs who may be concerned about their fertility. All the changes the researchers found appeared to be totally reversible. Specifically, normal levels of sexual function and DNA fragmentation both returned to normal one month after discontinuation of the drug.

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COMMENT by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny: Like SSRIs, the new vaccine for HPV and cervical cancer, Gardasil, will be associated with infertility in the future. Gardasil is now in clinical trials for use in little boys. It contains borax, shown to cause infertility in male mice. Between Gardasil in girls and boys, and SSRIs, the next generation will be barren by the time they are in their 20s and Pharma will have no liability. Oh yes...and it will drive the in vitro medical business through the roof! Always remember that drugs and vaccines drive dollars into other areas of their business.
 
Here are a few examples, but the list can go on and on: 
 
• Example: vaccines can cause asthma --> We now have an epidemic of childhood asthma and sales of asthma drugs are in the multiple billions.
• Example: the hepatitis B and the HiB vaccine have been linked to causing insulin dependent diabetes --> We now have an epidemic of childhood diabetes (read, lifetime diabetes) and sales of all services related to diabetes are in the multiple billions.
• Example: the polio vaccine has been linked to some cancers, such as brain tumors and lymphomas (read the book, "The Virus and the Vaccine" by Debbie Bookchin for details.). Aventis makes some polio vaccines; not a coincidence they also make the chemotherapy drugs for these cancers.
• Example: vaccine components, especially mercury and aluminum, can cause chronic brain inflammation that can last for years. (See Dr. Blaylock's research.). The sale of drugs for ADD/ADHD, depression, anxiety, insomnia, etc. is in the multiple billions...and rising.
 
There are massive changes anticipated in the health care and insurance policies in the U.S. If we eliminated vaccines, yes, some children would becomes sick for a week or two. But we would save trillions of dollars in long-term health care costs, making insurance affordable -- and even unnecessary except for catastrophic occurrences-- for most.

 Dr Sherri
www.DrTenpenny.com
www.Osteomed2.com