Diabetes medications improve testicular function

CATANIA – The new generation hypoglycemic drugs, used in the pharmacological treatment of diabetes mellitus, would improve testicular function. This was revealed by a recent editorial – entitled “Is there a role for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists in the treatment of male infertility?” – published in the prestigious International journal «Andrology», official organ of the European Academy of Andrology. endocrinological professors and researchers Sandro La Vignera, Rosita Angela Condorelli, Rossella Cannarella and Aldo Eugenio Calogero of the Policlinico of the University of Catania in collaboration with Prof. Antonio Aversa and Emanuela Greco of the University of Catanzaro.

“The study – explain the researchers – illustrates the mechanisms through which hypoglycemic drugs called ‘Glp-1 analogues’ used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus positively influence the function of Sertoli cells, responsible for controlling spermatogenesis, and to a lesser extent that of Leydig cells, involved in the biosynthesis of testosterone. It would also seem that these drugs are capable of directly influencing the metabolism of spermatozoa in a positive way, improving their motility ». “These evidences open new scenarios relating to the pharmacological management of diabetes mellitus associated with alterations in testicular function – underlines Prof. La Vignera – for some years we have been observing the increasing frequency of a clinical phenomenon that takes the name of metabolic hypogonadism, a condition characterized by reciprocal negative influence between metabolic pathologies such as obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus and testicular function. Specifically, if on the one hand obesity and diabetes mellitus are able to cause hypogonadism, which in turn affects reduced levels of testosterone, on the other hand, it also seems that insulin resistance makes spermatogenesis less efficient. Therefore – says Prof. La Vignera – the management of the metabolic alteration of the diabetic patient could have important implications on male fertility “.