Obesitys affect on brain & sperm count – Ahmedabad Mirror

Others You Obesitys affect on brain & sperm count New study shows obesity may lead to affected hypothalamus, the brain centre that has a role in reproduction and also tells individual when to stop eating Array ( [galleryId] => 85381075319a7c2e9d65ac830d2abf253fbba3b531f9f4b5 [thumbImage] => https://media.ahmedabadmirror.com/am/uploads/mediaGallery/image/1721495484881.jpg-thmb [largeImage] => https://media.ahmedabadmirror.com/am/uploads/mediaGallery/image/1721495484881.jpg-sldr [fullImage] => https://media.ahmedabadmirror.com/am/uploads/mediaGallery/image/1721495484881.jpg-org [videoObj] => => Obesitys affect on brain & sperm count [altText] => Obesitys affect on brain & sperm count [description] => Obesitys affect on brain & sperm count [title] => ) Obesitys affect on brain & sperm count PTI

Jul 21, 2024 03:00 PM | UPDATED: Jul 20, 2024 10:44 PM | 9 min read

Obesity, known to lower sperm count, could be causing it by affecting ones hypothalamus the brain centre involved in both reproduction and telling one when to stop eating, according to a study.

The changes in the hypothalamus, which controls survival-related acts, could be disrupting the formation of hormones involved in producing testosterone and sperms, said researchers, who conducted their study on mice. Feeding the mice with a high-fat diet, the researchers at the University of California Riverside, US found that the rodents showed persistent changes in their brains, disrupting the messaging that enough energy is available and one can now stop eating.

The mice also showed lower testosterone in their blood and a reduced sperm count, the authors found in the study published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Lead author Djurdjica Coss explained that reproduction is controlled by a feedback loop between the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland in the brain and gonads in the reproductive organs.

The hypothalamus is known to be involved in controlling behaviours related to survival, including eating and reproducing, while the pituitary gland regulates how much testosterone and sperm is produced in males (estrogen and ova in females).

The hypothalamus informs the pituitary gland about producing hormones, known to control how much testosterone or estrogen is formed.

This messaging was found to be malfunctioning in the obese mice, thereby causing fewer hormones from the pituitary gland and lower levels of testosterone produced, according to Coss.

When these neurons in the hypothalamus are not functioning properly, as in obesity, it causes lower hormone levels from the pituitary gland and lower testosterone and sperm production, said Coss.

To our surprise, we found the primary site of obesitys effects is the brain, rather than the testes or pituitary, in disrupting the normal functioning of the neurons that regulate reproduction, said Coss. Researchers said more studies would be needed to make sense of the latest results. Obesity results in fewer sperms being produced and lowering of libido is not fully understood. PTI

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Obesitys affect on brain & sperm count - Ahmedabad Mirror