Marijuana offers new hope for fertility cure in men

Marijuana receptor might actually hold the key to
new fertility treatments for men
HIGHLIGHTS
• Research shows that a cannabinoid receptor helps
regulate the creation of sperm and can be a
therapeutic strategy for treating male infertility
Frequently smoking pot can take its toll on your
sperm and now, a new study suggests that a
marijuana receptor might actually hold the key to
new fertility treatments for men.

In the research, scientists showed that a
cannabinoid receptor, called "CB2," helps regulate
the creation of sperm. Not only does this provide
more evidence that marijuana can disrupt fertility
in males, but it also suggests a therapeutic strategy
for treating male infertility.

Researcher Paola Grimaldi from the University of
Rome Tor Vergata said that the possibility to
improve male fertility is one of the main focuses of
this study, since infertility is a worldwide problem
that affects up to 15 percent of couples, in which
male factors account for almost 20-70 percent.

To make their discovery, Grimaldi and colleagues
treated three groups of mice with different agents
for 14 to 21 days. The first group was treated with
a specific activator of the CB2 receptor. The second
group was treated with a specific inhibitor of the
CB2 receptor. The third group received only a
saline solution and served as the control group.

The group treated with the CB2 activator showed
an acceleration of spermatogenesis, while the
group treated with the inhibitor displayed a slower
rate of the process.

This suggests that a tight balance of CB2 activation
is required for the proper progression of
spermatogenesis.

"That the normal beneficial effects of endogenous
cannabinoids on spermatogenesis can be
stimulated further by a chemical mimic, an agonist,
is a potentially promising new idea for treating
male infertility," said Thoru Pederson, Editor-in-
Chief of The FASEB Journal.