-Caveat Lector- > Human Sperm In Dramatic Decline Scientists Warn > By Aaron Derfel Montreal Gazette > www.montrealgazette.com 7-3-1 > Scientists from around the world are alarmed by a > dramatic increase in > genetically damaged human sperm - a trend that is > not only causing > infertility in men, but also childhood cancers in > the offspring of those who > can reproduce. > > It's now estimated that up to 85 per cent of the > sperm produced by a healthy > male is DNA-damaged, a leading authority on the > subject revealed yesterday at > an international conference being held in Montreal. > > "That's very unusual," said John Aitken, head of > biological sciences at the > University of Newcastle in Australia. > > "If you were to take a rat or a mouse or a rabbit, > usually more than 80 per > cent of their sperm would be normal." > > For the last 20 years, scientists have known about > declining sperm counts. > But researchers are now learning that the quality of > human sperm is steadily > eroding, and might be causing birth defects as well > as brain cancer and > leukemia in children. > > Abnormal sperm is also being blamed for a global > increase in testicular > cancer - a disease that strikes men in their 30s. > Scientists believe that > when a DNA-damaged sperm fertilizes a woman's egg, > it can trigger a mutation > of a key gene in the embryo. > > And even if men today can reproduce, their damaged > sperm might lead to > infertility in their male progeny, Aitken suggested. > "You're likely to see > lots of diseases that are related to poorer semen > quality." > > Scientists suspect a wide range of environmental > causes for the abnormal > sperm - from exposure to pesticides and heavy metals > to electromagnetic > radiation. > > "We're all exposed to 10 times more electromagnetic > radiation than our > forefathers," Aitken said. "It's all the electrical > appliances we use, > including microwave phones." > > There is a consensus in the scientific community > that men who smoke cause > damage to their sperm, and that this might be > responsible for childhood > cancers. "If you are a man and you smoke, your semen > profile won't be > obviously affected," Aitken said. "You'll still have > lots of sperm swimming > around and you'll be fertile. But the DNA in your > sperm nucleus will be > fragmented." > > The average ejaculate of human sperm contains 80 > million spermatazoa, each > genetically programmed to fertilize a woman's egg. > Scientists examining human > sperm have discovered that not only are sperm counts > on the decline, but that > the vast majority of sperm is sluggish, poorly > structured, their DNA > fragmented and that they generate a lot of cellular > waste called free > radicals. > > "Generally speaking, everything is bad with the > sperm," Aitken said. > > Fortunately for most couples, it's the undamaged or > least damaged sperm that > tends to fertilize the egg. > > As a result of increasing male infertility, > scientists have developed a new > technique to help couples conceive. It's called > Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm > Injection (ICSI). In the lab, a technologist will > take from the would-be > father a single sperm, or even a cell that is on its > way to becoming a sperm, > and fertilize it in the test tube with the woman's > egg. The resulting embryo > is then transferred to the woman's uterus. > > Dr. Keith Jarvi, of the University of Toronto-Mount > Sinai Hospital, said the > ICSI technique has revolutionized the treatment of > male infertility. But he > wondered about the health outcomes of the ICSI > children. > > That human sperm is of poorer quality than that of > other mammals is not > surprising. The human species is the only one that > wears clothes, and healthy > sperm need to be kept a couple of degrees cooler > than the full body > temperature. But clothing alone is not responsible > for the extent of abnormal > human sperm, Aitken argued. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. 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