Paxil Linked to Sperm Damage, New Study Says

The anti-depressant drug Paxil may cause damage to men’s sperm and result in temporary fertility problems, a newly released study has found.

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York found that one half of men who took the drug paroxetine, sold under the brand names Paxil and Seroxat, suffered from higher levels of fragmentation in the DNA contained in their sperm.

The research team concluded that Paxil, which has been previously associated with premature ejaculation and erectile dysfunction in men, may also cause infertility.

“Although this study doesn’t look directly at fertility, we can infer that as many as half of men taking SSRIs have a reduced ability to conceive,” said Dr. Peter Schlegel, professor of reproductive medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York and the study’s senior author. “These men should talk with their physicians about their treatment options.”

The New York study focused on 35 men who took Paxil or another form of paroxetine for five weeks. Scientists then tested the men’s sperm for signs of missing pieces of DNA, a condition also called DNA fragmentation. They found that 50 percent of men had signs of DNA fragmentation, compared to less than 10 percent of men who had the sperm damage before the study began.

The good news is, when the men stopped taking paroxetine, their sperm returned to normal, researchers said.

The study’s authors theorize that the anti-depressants damage sperm by slowing down its movement through the man’s reproductive system, allowing it to become aged and damaged.

Smoking, alcohol, drug abuse, anabolic steroids, sexually transmitted diseases, toxic exposure and other types of environmental damage may also damage sperm counts.

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