Chronic marijuana use may decrease testicular function, negatively impact male reproductive health
Chronic use of marijuana may greatly impact male fertility and reproductive outcomes, says a new report published online in the journal Fertility & Sterility. The study is the first to assess the impacts of substance use on testicular function via a mode of delivery, and dosage, that reflects current human consumption.
Clinician-scientists at the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University monitored the reproductive systems of healthy male nonhuman primates following exposure to Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC - the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
The nonhuman primates, all of reproductive age with a history of proven paternity and no prior exposure to cannabis, received a THC edible once daily over the course of seven months. Their THC dose was based on published medical marijuana acclimation recommendations for humans, and was increased every 70 days in alignment with the animals' sperm development cycle. Dose adjustments were made until it reached the equivalent of a heavy medical marijuana dose in humans. Semen samples were collected at baseline before initiation of THC, and again at the end of each THC dosing timepoint.
https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(21)02321-9/fulltext
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