Chronic Treatment With Finasteride Daily Does Not Affect Spermatogenesis or Semen Production in Young Men

Overstreet, James W.; Fuh, Vivian L.; Gould, John E.; Howards, Stuart S.; Lieber, Michael M.; Hellstrom, Wayne J. G.; Shapiro, Stuart; Carroll, Peter; Corfman, Randle S.; Petrou, Steven; Lewis, Ronald W.; Toth, Phillip D.; SHOWN, TOM; Roy, Jitendra Nath; Jarow, Jonathan P.; BONILLA, JAIME; Jacobsen, Carol A.; WANG, DANIEL Z.; Kaufman, Keith D.

doi:10.1097/00005392-199910000-00014

Cited by 35 publications

(58 citation statements)

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“…We hypothesize that perhaps finasteride does not dramatically change the spermatogenesis process in healthy men as shown by Overstreet et al (1999), but in patients with other problems contributing to infertility, the negative influence of finasteride noted by others might be amplified. Future studies should be done to clarify the extent of the effect of finasteride in patients with fertility problems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…9 However, Overstreet et al (1999) reported that finasteride 1 mg/day did not affect spermatogenesis, seminal production, sperm motility, or sperm morphology in young healthy men. 1 The 3 patients reported on this paper showed abnormal sperm concentration and motility while using finasteride 1 mg/day. Those alterations were completely reversed (patient 1 and 2) or improved (patient 3) 3 or 4 months after the interruption of finasteride treatment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…4 There has been a concern regarding the use of finasteride, especially in young patients, because of its action on testosterone metabolism. Overstreet et al (1999) demonstrated in a prospective clinical trial that treatment with finasteride 1 mg/day does not affect spermatogenesis or the spermatozoa production in young healthy men. 1 However, Kinniburg et al (2001) showed that the use of finasteride promotes a significant reduction of the serum level of DHT, decrease of the plasma seminal volume, and the suppression of gonadotropin secretion, resulting in impairment of spermatogenesis.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Overstreet et al (1999) demonstrated in a prospective clinical trial that treatment with finasteride 1 mg/day does not affect spermatogenesis or the spermatozoa production in young healthy men. 1 However, Kinniburg et al (2001) showed that the use of finasteride promotes a significant reduction of the serum level of DHT, decrease of the plasma seminal volume, and the suppression of gonadotropin secretion, resulting in impairment of spermatogenesis. 2 O'Donnel et al (1999) showed in an animal model that the use of finasteride promoted partial inhibition of spermatogenesis.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 It inhibits the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). 2 Dihydrotestosterone is the most potent androgen, and its level directly affects prostate development.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Finasteride-associated male infertility

et al. 2004

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Finasteride is a potent and specific inhibitor of the 5α-reductase enzyme in men. Clinical studies have shown that finasteride 1mg/day is effective for promoting hair growth in men with male pattern hair loss. However, there is a concern about the use of finasteride, especially in young fertile patients, because of its action on testosterone metabolism. This paper describes 3 cases of young patients who had very poor seminal quality during finasteride treatment (1 mg/day), and their seminal quality greatly improved after cessation of finasteride treatment. Two of them presented with a left varicocele and the other was obese. We hypothesize that finasteride may not dramatically change the spermatogenesis process in healthy men, but in patients with conditions related to infertility, an amplification of the negative influence of finasteride could occur. Future studies should be done to clarify the extent of the effect of finasteride in patients fertility problems. Finasteride is a potent and specific inhibitor of the 5α-reductase enzyme. 1 It inhibits the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). 2 Dihydrotestosterone is the most potent androgen, and its level directly affects prostate development.It is known that the use of 5α-reductase enzyme inhibitors like finasteride, when administered at 5 mg/ day, reduce the prostatic size around 20% to 30%. 3 Finasteride has been used for the treatment of benign prostate hyperplasia. Clinical studies have shown that finasteride 1 mg/day is also effective in promoting hair growth in men with male pattern hair loss. 4 There has been a concern regarding the use of finasteride, especially in young patients, because of its action on testosterone metabolism. Overstreet et al. (1999) demonstrated in a prospective clinical trial that treatment with finasteride 1 mg/day does not affect spermatogenesis or the spermatozoa production in young healthy men. 1 However, Kinniburg et al. (2001) showed that the use of finasteride promotes a significant reduction of the serum level of DHT, decrease of the plasma seminal volume, and the suppression of gonadotropin secretion, resulting in impairment of spermatogenesis. 2 O'Donnel et al. (1999) showed in an animal model that the use of finasteride promoted partial inhibition of spermatogenesis. 2 A Medline review searching with the key words finasteride and fertility produced 3 papers related to the positive influence of finasteride on the fertility, but none of them were performed with humans. Cukierski et al. (1991) and Wise et al. (1991) showed that in rats the administration of 80 mg/kg/day of finasteride decreased fertility. 5,6 According to Iguer-Ouada et al. (1997), finasteride (1 mg/kg) promoted an increase in sperm concentration and decrease in volume of prostatic secretion in male beagle dogs. 7 The effects on the fertility of a long period of finasteride treatment are not completely defined.The aim of this study was describe 3 cases of young male patients who consulted for infertility and showed severe decrease of spe...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 It inhibits the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). 2 Dihydrotestosterone is the most potent androgen, and its level directly affects prostate development.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Finasteride-associated male infertility

et al. 2004

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Evaluation of Sexual Function With an International Index of Erectile Function in Subjects Taking Finasteride for Androgenetic Alopecia

et al. 2004

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To evaluate variations in sexual and erectile function in subjects taking 1 mg of finasteride for androgenetic alopecia by administering the abridged 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) questionnaire before and during treatment.Design: In a multicenter study, 186 patients with androgenetic alopecia were asked to complete the IIEF-5 regarding the domain of erectile function before (at baseline) and 4 to 6 months after beginning finasteride treatment. The test was self-administered. Setting:The study was conducted in 7 institutional dermatology departments in Italy

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Quality Control of Laboratory Methods for Semen Evaluation in a Multicenter Research Study

Brazil

Swan

Tollner

et al. 2004

Journal of Andrology

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Rigorously standardized laboratory protocols and strict quality control (QC) are essential for meaningful comparisons between semen quality data from multiple sites. We describe our experience with the Study for Future Families (SFF), a multicenter study of semen quality in the United States. Detailed protocols were developed, and technicians from each study site attended a training session at the central laboratory. Technicians received blinded replicates from diluted semen specimens for counting by MicroCell and hemacytometer. Sperm motility was assessed using videotaped recordings for simple percent motility and categorical assessment of individual sperm progression as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The mean intertechnician coefficient of variation for individual specimens was 12.6% for MicroCell counts, 15.2% for hemacytometer counts, and 10.5% for percent motility. Intratechnician coefficients of variation averaged 10.3% for MicroCell counts, 12.5% for hemacytometer counts, and 5.2% for percent motility. The average percent differences between the technicians' values and the central standard for individual specimens were 13.5%, 16.6%, and 11.9% for MicroCell counts, hemacytometer counts, and simple percent motility, respectively. We achieved our goal of maintaining mean intratechnician coefficients of variation and mean percent differences from the standard values of 15% or less for measurements of simple percent motility and sperm concentration by MicroCell. Standardization using the Improved Neubauer hemacytometer chamber proved more difficult. We were not successful in standardizing a method for categorical assessment of individual sperm progression.

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Chronic Treatment With Finasteride Daily Does Not Affect Spermatogenesis or Semen Production in Young Men

Cited by 35 publications

References 8 publications

Finasteride-associated male infertility

Finasteride-associated male infertility

Evaluation of Sexual Function With an International Index of Erectile Function in Subjects Taking Finasteride for Androgenetic Alopecia

Quality Control of Laboratory Methods for Semen Evaluation in a Multicenter Research Study

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