CELL PHONE USE CAN WRECK MALE FERTILITY

CELL PHONE USE CAN WRECK

MALE FERTILITY

             Men , particularly those wishing to become fathers, risk wrecking their fertility if they don't curb their cell phone use. Researchers have found that while cell phone use appears to increase the level of testosterone circulating in the body, it may also lead to low sperm quality and a decrease in fertility. "Our findings were a little bit puzzling," says Rany Shamloul, postdoctoral fellow in pharmacology and toxicology at the Queen's University, Canada, who led the study."We were expecting to find different results, but the results we did find suggest that there could be some intriguing mechanisms at work," said Shamloul, according to a Queen's statement.

    The research team discovered that men using cell phones reported higher levels of circulating testosterone but they also had lower levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), an important reproductive hormone that is secreted by the pituitary gland in the brain.The researchers hypothesize that electromagnetic waves (EMW) emitted by cell phones may have a dual action on male hormone levels and fertility. EMW may increase the number of cells in the testes that produce testosterone; however, by lowering the levels of LH excreted by the pituitary gland, EMW may also block the conversion of this basic circulating type of testosterone to the more active, potent form of testosterone associated with sperm production and fertility.  (Ref:Manorama)

                                                          Prof. John Kurakar