Australian fertility experts speculate that Viagra could harm fertility

Viagra 'could harm fertility'

Erection drugs might help couples have sex but new research suggests one popular pill may hinder their chances of conceiving a baby in the act. A British study has concluded that men who take the anti-impotence medication Viagra could be damaging their sperm quality and ruining their chance of fathering a child.

The new finding has not surprised Australian fertility experts, who say young men who regularly use the drug should "be cautious" if they are planning a family.

But they warn further research is needed to determine the full extent of the risk and the significance of the findings.

Dr David Glenn, a consultant gynaecologist at Queen's University Belfast, investigated the effects of Viagra in two experiments to be published in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

In the first, the research team bathed sperm samples in weak solutions of Viagra to mimic the level found in the blood of a man who has taken a single pill.

They found that sperm exposed to the drug was more active than untreated sperm, but it also appeared to damage the acrosome, a cap-like structure that produces enzymes that help sperm penetrate the egg.

"Essentially the acrosome breaks open too early in sperm that has been exposed to Viagra," Dr Glenn told the London newspaper The Observer.

"The sperm cannot get into the egg and so it is not fertilised."

Another test found mice that had been given Viagra produced 40 per cent fewer embryos than other mice.

The research raises concerns that young men who take the drug regularly, either for impotence or recreationally, added to club drugs like cocaine, could be unknowingly damaging their fertility.
And it indicated that fertility clinics that administer the drug to patients could be making the problem worse.

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Professor Michael Chapman, a senior fertility specialist with IVF Australia, said he knew of very few Australian clinics that suggested using Viagra for sperm production.

"I've never used it because most men are quite capable of producing a sample without it, and for the occasional man who isn't, we use a frozen sample where performance anxiety is not an issue," Prof Chapman said.

He said he believed use of Viagra among younger men would be limited, with men in their post-fatherhood years most likely to take the drug.

"It hasn't yet been demonstrated in humans and we also don't know how long-lasting (the effect) it is," Prof Chapman said.

"But if you're a young man and you're using it regularly then I'd suggest you probably shouldn't if you're planning a family."

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer was unable to immediately comment on the findings.

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