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Significant Testosterone Decrease in Young Males Conceived through Fertility Treatment, Danish Study Shows

By Elizabeth O'Brien

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, August 3, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A study by Danish researchers has found that a specific type of fertility treatment significantly decreases the level of testosterone in male children.

Published in the July 2007 issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, the study was conducted by Dr. Anders Juul and colleagues at the Copenhagen University Hospital. Entitled "Reduced Serum Testosterone Levels in Infant Boys Conceived by Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection," the study compared the testosterone levels of babies conceived by this fertility treatment to the levels of naturally conceived males.

The treatment is called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), a procedure that involves the direct fertilization of one egg by the injection of only one sperm. The newly created human is then implanted in the womb of the mother. According to a report by the BC Health Guide, ICSI is used to treat severe male infertility problems. It is also used in about half of in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures in Canada and the United States and has a 25 to 30% successful birth rate.

The Danish study examined over a thousand male babies, including 125 boys conceived by ICSI, 124 boys conceived by IVF, and 933 naturally conceived boys. Researchers measured the levels of testosterone of the children at birth and then at 3 months of age. Blood samples were also taken when they reached 3 months.

The study found that "serum testosterone levels were significantly lower in boys conceived by ICSI" compared with naturally conceived boys (2.4 nmol/liter in ICSI babies vs. 3.3 nmol/liter in naturally conceived).

The study indicated an impaired functioning of the Leydig cell, a cell located in the testicle that secretes testosterone. The researchers suggested that in boys conceived by ICSI, this problem was inherited from the fathers.

Cautioning those who use ICSI, they concluded, "The clinical significance of our findings is uncertain. However, our findings should raise concern because ICSI is increasingly used to overcome male infertility."These results coincide with a similar Danish study released earlier this June that found that men conceived through fertility treatment had half the normal sperm count. After examining nearly two thousand Danish volunteers, the study found that those men whose mothers had received some kind of fertility treatment had a 45% lower total sperm count and 46% lower sperm concentration than the naturally conceived group (see http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jun/07061902.html).

Read related LifeSiteNews coverage:

Birth Control Pill May Permanently Reduce Sex Drive Study Finds http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/may/05052603.html

IVF Babies up to 40% More Likely to Suffer Severe Birth Defects
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/jan/05013107.html

Higher Rate of Birth Defects in Babies Conceived Through Fertility Treatment
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/feb/07020909.html

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