MINOCYCLINE AND MALE INFERTILITY?

[MINOCINMAN]

Can anyone tell me if they know of any problems with Male infertility because of longterm use of Minocycline?
Jeff

[Maz]

@MINOCINMAN wrote:

Can anyone tell me if they know of any problems with Male infertility because of longterm use of Minocycline?
Jeff

Hmmm….think this is the first time this question has been asked here…first time for everything, eh? 😉

Upon doing a quick search, seems there is conflicting research on this. In human studies run in 1992, minocycline was seen to improve sperm counts in males with infections found in seminal fluid:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1479417

On the other hand, in bovine studies, minocycline was found to be toxic to bull sperm:

http://www.sharedjourney.com/define/maledr.html

And, rat sperm:

http://www.drugs.com/pro/minocycline.html

And, dogs:

http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/forum.read?mnr=166269&pagen=1

In males, chronic illness, age, hormones, toxic exposures, infections, etc., can all have some effect on fertility. Women who are pregnant can’t use tetracyclines as they can affect bone development in the fetus. It’s not clear whether or not animal studies provide absolute correlation to the effects of a drug on humans or not. They may provide helpful indicators for further human study, but animals metabolize drugs differently in many cases. My guess is that to be on the safe side, a guy would probably want to be off their tetracycline for several months prior to conception to ensure toxicity to mature sperm isn’t a problem. From the studies above, minocycline doesn’t seem to prevent spermatogenesis, but may cause toxicity to mature sperm (in animals). So, the concern seems more to be that it isn’t fertility as much as damage to sperm?

I guess another thing to weigh is the risk to one’s own health in stopping their tetra for an extended period.

You’ve probably found even better research, MM, but hope the above may help some in your searches.

[cavalier]

For what it is worth – Doxy is often used in male canines to help with male fertility issues often prescribed by a Repro vet, while not the same thing as Mino it could be something to look into with a urologist would it be who might know for a human. This is prescribed along with Carnitine & Glucsomine chondrotin. This is from my being a breeder for 13 yr’s & having a life long passion for following canine health care. I have never had one of my males miss but I dont breed often, only every 2 to 3 yr’s as I try to keep a pup from each litter to carry on the family lineage, & like to take the time to grow them up & work with them. Now with my own demands of SD & Sarcoidosis that is up to powers beyond but for now am taking a couple of years of a needed break much to my males displeasure. 😉 Jill

[Author]

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