Take Care! This is What Will Happen In Sperm Smokers

illustration of man who smoke (photo: commons.wikipedia.com)

Health - In each cigarette pack warnings that smoking is harmful to health, including reproductive health of men. Various studies have proven toxins in cigarettes can damage sperm. One of the prove is the study of the University of Saarland, Germany. They examined the sperm of 53 heavy smokers and 63 non-smoker, pf couples who seek help infertility.

Previous research has shown that men who smoke are less fertile than men who do not smoke. Then a tea, of researchers led by Mohamad Eid Hammaded, PhD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Saarland, Homburh/Saar, Germany, to find out what happens to the sperm of smokers.

Human sperm cells carry two small proteins that are very important, which is called protamine 1 and protamine 2. Normally, these proteins have a balanced relationship. But the male smokers, Hammaded and his colleagues found that sperm cells carrying too little protamine 2. This imbalance makes it very susceptible to DNA damage.

"The sperm DNA alphabet has one or two letters are missing. And this can not be fixed," said Hammaded on WebMD. "When we inject this defective sperm into the egg, the sperm is unable to fertilize. And even if fertilization occurs, the miscarriage rate is very high."

Based on Hammed, smoking causes the body to lose a lot of ability to resist damaging oxygen molecules (free radicals) in the seminal fluid. Interestingly, in addition to making the sperm celles more sensitive to oxidative stress, smoking itself increases the concentration of free radicals in the seminal fluid.

"Free radicals can cause sperm DNA fragmentation and problems with sperm motility and fertilization," said Adan Griffin, reproductive endocrinology, from the University of Rochester, New York, as reported by WebMD. Griffin wasn't involved in the study Hammaded.

In a previous study, Hammaded and his colleagues shows that men with fertility problems have a higher level of free radicals than fertile men. Hammaded and Griffin also suggested men and women with fertility problems to quit smoking.

"We tell couples seeking fertility treatment to quit smoking for at least three months before they tried therapy in vitro fertilization (IVF)," said Hammaded.

Griffin noted that smoking show that in addition to quitting smoking, couples with fertility problems should take supplements of antioxidants to reduce oxidative stress in their bodies.

"I usually tell people there is no magic cure for it, but taking antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E can't harm and may provide some marginal benefits," said Griffin. A research result Hammaded and his colleagues ever published journal Human Reproduction on 2010.

reference: CNN Indonesia