Chronic Excessive Alcohol Consumption and Male Fertility
Aims: The aim of this work was to report on a heavy drinker whose azoospermia was reversed after alcohol withdrawal. We also review the literature on links between alcohol consumption and azoospermia.
Method: This study is a clinical case report and a literature review.
Results: Two years after alcohol withdrawal, a child was born following assisted reproduction technique. Excessive alcohol consumption (i.e. more than 60 g a day) is strongly associated with azoospermia and this condition may be reversible after alcohol withdrawal.
Conclusions: Testicular biopsies should be countra-indicated for heavy drinkers, and in order to increase the chances of obtaining a pregnancy, alcohol abstinence should be encouraged in male with low-to-moderate alcohol intakes.
Male fertility can be damaged by excessive alcohol consumption, though a direct effect on the testes (Anderson et al., 1980) and/or a dose-dependent depression of plasma testosterone levels (Mendelson et al., 1977; Valimaki et al., 1984). Although a number of studies have examined semen parameters in patients with excessive alcohol consumption (Gomathi et al., 1993; Goverde et al., 1995; Curtis et al., 1997; Jensen et al., 1998; Marinelli et al., 2004; Muthusami and Chinnaswamy, 2005), the findings have differed. There are few reported studies in heavy drinkers (i.e. those consuming >60 g of alcohol a day), although the results have been more homogeneous (Lloyd and William, 1948; Brzec, 1987; Pajarinen et al., 1996; Vicari et al., 2002; Mills and Meacham, 2007; Sermondade et al., 2010). Here, we report on an alcoholic patient receiving cross-disciplinary medical care from an addiction medicine physician and an andrologist/embryologist. Alcohol withdrawal was associated with the reversal of azoospermia and a healthy live birth in an assisted reproductive technology (ART) programme with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). We also review the literature, discuss the relationship between excessive alcohol consumption and male infertility and comment on opportunities for the use of ART in this context.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Aims: The aim of this work was to report on a heavy drinker whose azoospermia was reversed after alcohol withdrawal. We also review the literature on links between alcohol consumption and azoospermia.
Method: This study is a clinical case report and a literature review.
Results: Two years after alcohol withdrawal, a child was born following assisted reproduction technique. Excessive alcohol consumption (i.e. more than 60 g a day) is strongly associated with azoospermia and this condition may be reversible after alcohol withdrawal.
Conclusions: Testicular biopsies should be countra-indicated for heavy drinkers, and in order to increase the chances of obtaining a pregnancy, alcohol abstinence should be encouraged in male with low-to-moderate alcohol intakes.
Introduction
Male fertility can be damaged by excessive alcohol consumption, though a direct effect on the testes (Anderson et al., 1980) and/or a dose-dependent depression of plasma testosterone levels (Mendelson et al., 1977; Valimaki et al., 1984). Although a number of studies have examined semen parameters in patients with excessive alcohol consumption (Gomathi et al., 1993; Goverde et al., 1995; Curtis et al., 1997; Jensen et al., 1998; Marinelli et al., 2004; Muthusami and Chinnaswamy, 2005), the findings have differed. There are few reported studies in heavy drinkers (i.e. those consuming >60 g of alcohol a day), although the results have been more homogeneous (Lloyd and William, 1948; Brzec, 1987; Pajarinen et al., 1996; Vicari et al., 2002; Mills and Meacham, 2007; Sermondade et al., 2010). Here, we report on an alcoholic patient receiving cross-disciplinary medical care from an addiction medicine physician and an andrologist/embryologist. Alcohol withdrawal was associated with the reversal of azoospermia and a healthy live birth in an assisted reproductive technology (ART) programme with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). We also review the literature, discuss the relationship between excessive alcohol consumption and male infertility and comment on opportunities for the use of ART in this context.