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Majority Of Men Who Took Ivermectin In Study Ended Up Becoming Sterile

Majority Of Men Who Took Ivermectin In Study Ended Up Becoming Sterile

Not only did they have a lower sperm count, but they also had sperm with two heads, two tails and other deformities.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

Loads of people are trying to take a fringe anti-parasitic medicine to protect themselves against the coronavirus.

Instead of getting one of the approved Covid-19 vaccines, people all over the world are going to pharmacies and drug stores in the hope they can get their hands on ivermectin.

It's been touted by the likes of Joe Rogan, however there isn't any peer-reviewed scientific evidence that shows it's effective in preventing people getting infected, nor that it reduces the effects of the virus.

However, there has been one interesting side effect that was discovered in a study done by three universities in Nigeria.

The team wanted to see if there were any bad implications of taking the drug and discovered it can be connected to a loss in sperm function.

PA

The study found nearly 400 men who were taking the drug to help treat a parasite infection called onchocerciasis.

They ended up using 37 men for the research and tested their sperm for count, motility, morphology, volume, viscosity and liquefaction time.

The men were then given a dose of ivermectin over the course of 11 months and then retested them to see if the drug had affected their sperm.

"We observed significant reduction in the sperm counts and sperm motility of the patients tested," the study concluded.

"On the morphology there was significant increase in the number of abnormal sperm cells. This took the forms of two heads, double tails, white (albino) sperms and extraordinarily large heads.

"It is suspected that the above alterations in the already determined parameters of the patients' sperm cells could only have occurred as a result of their treatment with ivermectin.

"However, we could not record any significant change or alteration in the sperm viscosity, sperm volume, and sperm liquefaction time of the patients.

"We therefore suggest that caution be seriously exercised in the treatment of male onchocerciasis patients with ivermectin to avoid the adverse effects it has on the patients' sperm functions."

A spokesperson for the US Food and Drug Administration told Snopes that infertility in men is not a known side effect of ivermectin and, as such, is not included in US labelling requirements.

At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was one study that suggested ivermectin could be used to combat coronavirus, however no other investigations have been able to find any benefit that have later been positively peer-reviewed.

The Cochrane Library released arguably the best study into the use of Ivermectin for coronavirus and found people shouldn't be taking it.

The University of Sydney's Professor Andrew McLachlan explained: "The Cochrane Library is really the Olympics of evaluating evidence, this is the group that sets the highest standard and reviews the best trials.

"Their analysis is that there's not enough information at this stage to decide whether or not Ivermectin is effective in preventing or treating Covid and it is not recommended until we know further information about that."

Featured Image Credit: Pixabay

Topics: News, Health