The Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine is pleased to offer a site for
our referring medical providers where you will find helpful information about
infertility evaluation and patient referral, our laboratory services, and
research and news updates. We want to help you take the best possible care of
your patients with our up-to-date topics of interest page which include useful
educational handouts.
All of the physicians at CCRM appreciate your partnership in helping patients
to identify reproductive challenges and overcome the barriers to successful
family building. We offer a ride range of infertility treatments and patient
services as well as patient education, counseling and wellness programs and
ongoing infertility research through our nonprofit organization the National
Foundation for Fertility Research. Patients can benefit from our research
efforts through participation in one of our studies which may provide financial
coverage for a portion of their care at CCRM.
As part of our commitment to building partnerships with our referring
community we continue to offer education to our fellow healthcare providers
through periodic newsletters, Lunch and Learns, CME programs and recent
publications. You may also contact a CCRM physician through the contact form on
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Are You Too Old to Have Kids?
December 02, 2011
Dr. Schoolcraft discusses the male biological clock with Men's Health Magazine
Yet another reason to have sex now: Your biological clock is
ticking. According to new research at the Colorado Center for
Reproductive Medicine, it’s not just the ladies who have a magic number.
The study found that as male mice reached middle age—about 45 in human
years—the ability to produce a pregnancy when the male mated with a
young female dropped 50 percent.
And when older sperm did produce, the miscarriage rate was much higher—about 50 percent versus 10 percent in young mice.
Researchers say that around age 45 the quality of sperm being
produced declines for male humans, too. “It’s a natural aging process.
As the cells in the testicles age, they manufacture sperm less
efficiently,” says William Schoolcraft, MD.
“Women are commonly blamed for infertility. That may be too
simplistic,” Schoolcraft says. “Men tend to think, ‘Who cares if I’m 30,
or 50, or 70?’ We have to realize that it does matter.”
While the aging process (both yours and your sperm’s) can’t be
reversed, Schoolcraft says that changes in diet and lifestyle can guard
against sperm decline. “Many of the foods that serve to protect your
heart protect semen, too,” says Schoolcraft. Folic acid and vitamin A
are also key ingredients for male sex hormones and sperm production, so
make sure you’re getting plenty of dark leafy green vegetables, milk,
and eggs.
Zinc is a key mineral for cell division, which helps with sperm
production. Experts recommend 11 mg a day for men. Find it in a
multivitamin or oysters (76.6 mg zinc in six oysters), crab (6.5 mg in 3
ounces), and fortified cereal (3.8 mg in ¾ cup).
Another tip? Sperm function best slightly below the body’s
temperature of 98.6 degrees, so exposing your boys to temperature much
above that—heat from a laptop on your lap or a Jacuzzi—can damage the
production process, explains Schoolcraft.
Consider freezing sperm if you’re getting close to age 50 and still want to have kids, Schoolcraft recommends.
Source: Men's Health Magazine
Cassie Shortsleeve
Men's Health Magazine
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