AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Jun 30, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Daily sex -- or
ejaculating daily -- for seven days improves men's sperm quality by reducing the
amount of DNA damage, an Australian researcher found.
Dr. David Greening, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Sydney IVF in
Wollongong, Australia, studied 118 men who had higher than normal sperm DNA
damage as indicated by a DNA Fragmentation Index.
Men who had more than 15 percent of their sperm damaged were eligible for the
trial. At Sydney IVF, sperm DNA damage is defined as less than 15 percent DFI
for excellent quality sperm, 15 percent-24 percent DFI for good, 25 percent-29
percent DFI for fair and more than 29 percent DFI for poor quality. Other
laboratories can have slightly different ranges.
The men were instructed to ejaculate daily for seven days, and no other
treatment or lifestyle changes were suggested.
"We found that although frequent ejaculation decreased semen volume and sperm
concentrations, it did not compromise sperm motility and, in fact, this rose
slightly but significantly," Greening said in a statement.
"All that we knew was that intercourse on the day of ovulation offered the
highest chance of pregnancy, but we did not know what was the best advice for
the period leading up to ovulation or egg retrieval for in vitro fertilization."
The findings were presented at the 25th annual meeting of the European Society
of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam.
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Copyright 2009 by United Press International