Male Fertility Reduced by Diabetes

by Rajashri on  July 11, 2008 at 3:13 PM Diabetes News
  •   Print
  •   Share
  •   Comments
  •  Text 
A new study says that diabetes adversely affects male fertility.

The study led by Dr. Con Mallidis from Queen's University, Belfast, UK, has found that that diabetes can cause DNA damage in sperm.

For the study, the researchers studied semen samples from men with diabetes who were receiving insulin therapy. On initial routine microscopic examination the semen samples appeared normal, apart from a slight decrease in volume.

"But when we looked for DNA damage, we saw a very different picture," said Dr. Mallidis.

"Sperm RNA was significantly altered, and many of the changes we observed are in RNA transcripts involved in DNA repair. And comparison with a database of men of proven fertility confirmed our findings."

"Diabetics have a significant decrease in their ability to repair sperm DNA, and once this is damaged it cannot be restored," he said

"We were particularly interested to see a fourteen-fold decrease in the expression of a protein called ornithine decarboxylase, which is responsible for the production of spermine and spermidine, compounds responsible for cell growth that help stabilise the structure of DNA.

"We also found that spermatogenesis 20, a factor unique to the testis and whose function remains unknown, was greatly increased. Taken together, these factors indicate clearly that having diabetes has a direct influence on the health of semen," he added.

Over the years possible causes for sperm DNA fragmentation have been suggested but to date the exact mechanism for the damage remains unknown.

Page 1 Page 1 | 2  Next
 Email Email   RSS Feeds RSS Feeds   Print this page Print   Save this page Save   Link Link   Syndicate Syndicate   Comments Comments   Bookmark and Share
 
Comment & Contribute
Comments should be on the topic and should not be abusive. Comments are normally moderated and are reviewed after they are posted.
* Your comment can be maximum of 2500 characters

Notify me when reply is posted
I agree to the terms and conditions
  
If you have a question about health related issues, you can now post it in our Ask An Expert section on our community website Medwonders.com and get answers from our panel of experts.
X
  • Health News Index
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
News Archive
Date :
Category :
Keyword :
Quiz on Diabetes
Are you at risk for diabetes? To find out check out our health quiz.
  • News Quick Links
News Central Health Watch
Latest Health News Health In Focus
News Category (500+) Breaking Health News
Popular News Celebrating Life
Health News and Press Release Medindia - Exclusive
News Photo Gallery India Special
News Video Gallery Lifestyle and Wellness
News From Other Resources
Diabetes
Complete Medindia Resources
News Categories:  
Child Health Center

Diabetes Related News

» Severity of Sleep Apnea Could Predict Diabetes » Proper Care Can Prevent Amputations in Diabetic Foot Infections
» ACE2, Protective Molecule Champions in Diabetic Patients » Bariatric Surgery can Lower Blood Sugar Levels
» Researchers Discover Target for Diabetes Drug » Diabetes Cases Could Rise by 64 Percent in the US by 2025
» Cut-Rate Paper-Based Diabetes Test Apt for Developing Countries » Medication Errors Put Diabetics Lives at Risk: Report
Read More >>