New Clinical Evidence From China Suggests Covid-19 Infection Harms Male Fertility
Zhang Yushuo
DATE:  Mar 26 2020
/ SOURCE:  yicai
New Clinical Evidence From China Suggests Covid-19 Infection Harms Male Fertility New Clinical Evidence From China Suggests Covid-19 Infection Harms Male Fertility

(Yicai Global) March 26 -- A new study provides the first direct evidence that the Covid-19 virus affects male sex hormones, drawing more attention to the evaluation of gonadal function among patients who've recovered from the infection, especially reproductive-age men.

The study, a reprint that has not been peer reviewed, was conducted by professors and doctors at Zhongnan Hospital, Wuhan University and Wuhan Leishenshan Hospital. It involved 81 reproductive-age male patients with Covid-19, who were hospitalized in Leishenshan from March 5 to 18, along with 100 age-matched healthy men. Wuhan was the epicenter of the outbreak in China.

The authors pointed out that the study provides the first direct evidence about the Covid-19's influence on male sex hormones.

The study found a significant increase in serum luteinizing hormone in males with Covid-19, while there was a dramatic decrease in their ratio of testosterone to luteinizing hormone and the ratio of follicle stimulating hormone to luteinizing hormone. Besides, multivariable regression analysis indicated that c-reactive protein level was significantly associated with serum testosterone to luteinizing hormone ratio in such patients.

luteinizing hormone is produced by gonadotropic cells in the anterior pituitary gland. In males, it stimulates Leydig cell production of testosterone.

In mid-February, urologists from Suzhou Hospital affiliated to Nanjing Medical University noticed that the kidneys of confirmed Covid-19 patients had abnormal functions or were damaged.

The coronavirus that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, resembles Covid-19 and also targets ACE2 receptors, according to Li Yufeng, a professor at the Center of Reproductive Medicine under Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

The Zika, Ebola and Marburg viruses have all been found in male testicles and semen, causing sexual transmission. HIV and mumps can also lead to orchitis and even infertility. SARS has also been found to cause orchitis.

Researchers have a theory that the Covid-19 virus may inhibit cell functioning related to reproduction, leading to spermatogenesis failure, but the hypothesis has not been tested with clinical evidence.

Editor: Peter Thomas

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Keywords:   Covid-19,clinical evidence