[no subject]

["Genade Tyrone <tgenade at sun_ac.za>" <tgenade at sun_ac.za>]

Hello all

A little something to read and digest... there is some comentaty at the end by me so if you like you can just skip this bit:

"A powerful anti-oxidant derived from red algae has produced "spectacular" results in a pilot study of its efficacy as an infertility treatment, say Belgian researchers. Although they warn the study is small and needs to be replicated, they believe it provides strong evidence that oxidative damage to sperm is at the root of much male infertility. 

The anti-oxidant, astaxanthin, is a carotenoid produced by the algae Haematococcus pluvialis. It has been shown to increase piglet litter size when given to pigs, and to improve egg production when added to poultry feed. It is also routinely added to the feed of farmed salmon to enhance the pinkness of their flesh. But its potential benefits for humans are still under investigation.

In a double blind trial, Frank Comhaire of the Center for Medical and Urological Andrology at Ghent University Hospital and colleagues gave either astaxanthin or a placebo to 20 infertile men for three months. The men were all in couples and had been diagnosed infertile for an average of 20 months. Their female partners had no fertility problems.

By the end of the study, six of the partners of the 11 men who received astaxanthin were pregnant. That works out at a monthly pregnancy rate of 23%, says Comhaire, which is the rate expected among fertile couples.

"This is all within three months of treatment, which is very spectacular because all these couples have a long-term problem with infertility," he said.

By contrast, only one pregnancy occurred in the placebo group.

The numbers are too small for the results to be statistically significant, Comhaire warns. But he hopes to be able to repeat the study on a larger scale.

There is now substantial evidence correlating high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in semen with oxidative damage to sperm nuclear DNA and reduced sperm motility. Many researchers believe that an increase in ROS - perhaps due to lifestyle factors such as smoking, or exposure to environmental toxins - at least contributes to male infertility.

In the Belgian study, the researchers measured levels of ROS in the men's semen and found these were reduced in the astaxanthin group compared with the controls. Sperm motility was also higher in the astaxanthin group. And when they took some of the men's sperm and put them in a dish with hamster oocytes, or egg precursor cells, they found that more of those taken from the astaxanthin group attached themselves to the oocytes, and penetrated them.

"This suggests that the fertilizing potential of the sperm is indeed increased," said Comhaire.

Other researchers have shown that anti-oxidants can offer protection against diseases such as cardiovascular disease and prostate cancer, so he speculates that if astaxanthin treatment has any side-effects, they will be beneficial.

Ashok Agarwal, a urologist at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio said it was too early to draw conclusions from the study. But he points out that oxidative stress is implicated in around 40% of all cases of male infertility where the precise cause is unknown, so that Comhaire's approach appears to be logical.

"His results do appear to be quite significant, but the sample size is very, very small," said Agarwal, adding that the few published reports on the effects of anti-oxidants such as vitamins C and E on infertility are in general "very conflicting."

"We are all waiting for a very good clinical study...which can provide convincing information on some of these anti-oxidant cocktails," he added.

The findings, which are unpublished, were presented on April 25 at the fourth world congress on controversies in obstetrics, gynecology and infertility in Berlin."

Right... astaxanthin  is used as a colour enhancer for fish. I have been using it along with a high spurulina diet with mu killies anf get reasonably good yield from them provided other factors are good (temp etc...). The fish that I get the worst yields from are those that don't eat the flake or granulate I feed to which I have added the astaxanthin  suplement from Brine Shrimp Direct: Naturose Astaxanthan Powder, that I inherited from a friend when he went back to Germany (If any germans know of a Lou Duesmann tell him Tyrone says "hi".)

So seen similiar results in his fish?

Tyrone Genade 

http://tgenade.freeshell.org
Ph: +27-021-558-1753 (h); +27-021-808-5876 (w); +27-084-335-4977 (c) 
P450 Lab, Department of Biochemistry, University of Stellenbosch, Matieland 7602, South Africa 

"Seek your happiness in the Lord" Psalm 37:4 


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