Early childhood injury affects sperm quality

New research shows that childhood abuse or neglect can have an impact on men's sperm quality, according to UPI news agency.

The research is still on a small scale and has not proved causal. But experts at Tufts University Medical School (USA) say it shows a stressful way in the early stages of a man who can pass on to his child.

Discovered based on a survey of 28 men who were asked to complete questionnaires assessing their exposure to physical, verbal or sexual abuse and / or being physically abandoned. emotional.

Stress is related to the level of miRNA changes in sperm in humans.(Photo: Shutterstock).

Experts in turn analyzed the ejaculation of each man to assess the status of two major gene regulators found in sperm. These agents are called miRNAs , which are genetic patterns that control how DNA is or is not activated.

The team of biology professor Larry Feig found that miRNA levels were 300 times lower in men who were abused as early as men who had the least abuse.

In mice, miRNAs are thought to be associated with anxiety levels and 'binding defects' in the descendant of affected male rats. Studies in mice also bind miRNAs to embryonic and brain development.

The detection of lower miRNA levels was then confirmed in the study of male rats, tested for sperm after being exposed to different levels of stress and anxiety.

'This is the first study to show that stress is related to the level of miRNA changes in sperm in the human body , ' said study co-author David Dickson, who added that they are preparing a match. The study is larger in order to clarify the above relationship.

The results of the study were published in the journal Transl Translational Psychiatry.