| Abstract: | Cigarette smoking has negative effects on male fertility. Recent studies showed an active transfer of several components of cigarettes through the blood-testis barrier. The presence of these components in the seminal plasma may induce a degradation of sperm parameters and nuclear quality of spermatozoa, and compromise the chances of pregnancy. Moreover, smoking may have a negative impact on the smokers'offspring: poor quality embryos, development of childhood cancers. Oxidative stress-induced DNA damage seems to be one of the major causes of sperm quality alteration. Several methods are now available to analyze the degree of DNA fragmentation. In order to optimize the success rate of assisted reproduction technologies, the deleterious effects of smoking on male fertility and the necessity of cessation have to be explained in detail to these patients. |
