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Ever wonder how your diet and lifestyle choices may impact your fertility potential? Researchers from Sao Paulo, Brazil, did and looked into how dietary and social habits affect a man's reproductive capacity.

In 2012, Dr. Braga and associates looked at 250 men who underwent IVF/ICSI cycles and studied what they ate, whether they were obese (a high Body Mass Index, BMI) and lifestyle choices such as smoking and alcohol. For this group of men, they found that sperm concentration decreased if the man was more obese or drank more alchohol while the concentration increased as the man ate more cereal or increased the number of meals in a day. Motility also decreased with increased obesity and alcohol, but also decreased with increased smoking. In regards to IVF/ICSI, the fertilization rate decreased with increased alcohol consumption. Additionally, eating red meat and being on a weight loss program was associated with decreased implantation rates/pregnancy rates.

Bottomline: We all know that what we choose to put in our bodies is going to affect our health and our fertility as a result. Eating healthy and exercise in a balanced fashion always makes sense. Definitely touch base with your local male fertility specialist to identifiy dietary and/or lifestyle choices that may be negatively impacting your reproductive potential. Every little thing can help.

Reference: Braga et al. 2012 Fertility and Sterility 97(1): 53

Nowadays, who doesn't have a laptop? More than likely, a majority of men have spent time with the computer on their lap surfing the internet or cranking out a project for work or school. With such close proximity to a man's scrotum, researchers from Cordoba, Argentina and Norfolk, Virginia wondered whether Wi-Fi could actually be hurting sperm. Wi-Fi is a type of radio frequency electromagnetic wave energy that can be absorbed by the body.

Dr. Avendano and associates published in 2012 their work looking at the the possible Wi-Fi effects on sperm. They had 29 guys ejaculate. Each man's semen sample was washed and then split in half. For each man, half of their washed sperm was placed directly under a laptop computer hooked up to Wi-Fi for 4 hours while the other half just sat their not exposed to any Wi-Fi. To account for temperature changes under the laptop, they actually used air conditioning to keep the temperature under the laptop at 25 degrees Celsius. Interestingly, they found that sperm motility decreased significantly from 81% to 69%. Moreover, sperm DNA damage (fragmentation) significantly increased from 3% to 9.

Please note: This is just a preliminary study that was done in a laboratory that does not perfectly reflect the use of laptops in the real world. Ideally, they would have actually looked at sperm from men with and without a laptop over their scrotums, and we look forward to when that research comes out.

Bottomline: While these changes may have been statistically significant, it is unclear if they are clinically significant since the motility and amount of DNA damage was still within the normal range. It just highlights that as mens' lives change, we have to be cognizant of new environmental factors that may be adversely affecting our fertility potential. If you have questions about your lifestyle choices, touch base with your local male fertility specialist and see there are things you can do to optimize your reproductive health.

Reference: Avendano et al. 2012 Fertility and Sterility 97(1): 39

In the world of male fertility, it has been recommended by the Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine to wait for an improvement in sperm parameters after a varicocele repair that is seen in approximately 2/3 of men. Researchers in Toronto, Canada decided to see if this claim held up in a group of Canadian men and published their work in January 2012.

Dr. Al Bakri and associates looked back at 100 men who had their varicoceles repaired with a baseline average sperm concentration of 18.2 million/mL. They watched how their sperm production improved over the first 6 months after the repair. They found that the average sperm concentration improved significantly by 3 months time. Moreover, waiting an additional 3 months did not seem to provide any additional improvement. Specifically the average sperm concentration improved by 53% at 3 months to 27.9 million/mL and by 38% at 6 months to 25.1 million/mL.

Bottomline: This novel research looking at the time line for improvement of sperm parameters after a varicocele repair needs to be confirmed; however, it does suggest that couples may be able to initiate alternate reproductive therapies such as inseminations or IVF by 3 to 6 months after a varicocele repair instead of waiting the previously recommended time of 12 months. Many thanks to this Canadian team for this exciting research which may help many couples better navigate their reproductive journey towards a building a healthy family.

Reference: Al Bakri 2012 J Urol 187: 227

The distance from the bottom of your scrotum to the top of your anus, the anogenital distance or AGD, may correlate with your testosterone levels. The AGD has been known to be a marker for the development of genitals. Historically, it has been used to identify the gender of animals, and the AGD has been found to be longer in boys than in girls. Moreover, recent studies have suggested that AGD correlates with better semen parameters. Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas recently looked at AGD and looked for correlations with reproductive hormones.

Dr. Eisenberg and associates in 2012 looked at 116 men with the average age of 36. They measured their AGD as well as the following reproductive hormones (FSH, LH, testosterone and estrogen). The averaged AGD was 3.4cm and the average testosterone was 316.5 ng/dL. They found that a man's testosterone increased by approximately 20 ng/dL for every 1 cm increased in AGD. Additionally, men with low testosterone (<300ng/dL) had a shorter AGD (3.2cm) as compared to men with normal testosterone (3.7cm).

Bottomline: This is definitely interesting research that we will hear more about in the future. It probably will not change how we evaluate men for male fertility since semen analysis and blood tests to look at hormone levels provide more definitive information; however, we just wanted to give guys a heads up just in case your male fertility doc near you whips out a ruler and starts taking measurements "down there". This way you won't be surprised!

Reference: Eisenberg et al. 2012 J Urol 187: 594

In 2011, the National Urology Research Agenda (NURA) and the American Urological Association have deemed "male-factor infertility" as a research area of high priority.
Here are some facts that led to this decision:
1. Almost 5 million men have sought out help for infertility at some time in their lives.
2. 20% of couples seek infertility treatment or care.
3. A male factor contributing to infertility is found in up to 50% of couples.

Reference: Urology Health Extra Fall 2011: 11