Ibuprofen, sold without a prescription in many preparations, is very easily consumed in case of pain. Its use for 6 weeks in young men disrupts the functioning of their testicles, slashes their testosterone levels and risks damaging their fertility.
The regular and continuous intake of ibuprofen, frequent in family medication and frequently abusive in young high-level athletic men, disrupts the normal functioning of the testicle and leads to hormonal imbalance and sperm formation disorders, usually encountered in men. elderly man, and called “compensated hypogonadism”. This is what emerges from a study published in a good scientific journal, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A frequent pain medication
Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, an “NSAID,” over the counter. It is almost no longer used as an NSAID in France. Most of its consumption is for pain indications, that is to say between 200 and 1200 milligrams per day. It is therefore widely consumed, in adults, as in children, in the short-term treatment of fever and flu-like conditions, or of pains such as headaches or toothaches, body aches and very often in painful periods. It is contraindicated in children with chickenpox and in pregnant women beyond six months.
Abuse in the sports world
As it is easy to access and effective, it is unfortunately also used much too much and in particular by high level athletes, in self-medication and under pressure from those around them. It is almost a reflex in bad gyms to prevent muscle soreness from unusual or too sustained exertion by cures of ibuprofen. The less scrupulous adding corticosteroids which we have seen the devastation in the cycling groups, including among small amateurs. And the benefit here risks being more important than the good.
A worrying study for humans
A study carried out at the University of Copenhagen and coordinated by Inserm warns of the perverse and hitherto unknown effects on the functioning of the testicles.
The study was carried out on 31 male sports volunteers aged 18 to 35 who were randomly selected to take either ibuprofen, 1200 mg for 6 weeks, or a placebo. The study then analyzed fragments of testes that were cultured.
A global disruption of the testis
The findings of the clinical trial show that when men were exposed to 1,200 mg of ibuprofen per day for 6 weeks, levels of pituitary hormone, a hormone that plays a key role in controlling testosterone production , were greatly elevated in the blood, which led to disturbances in the production of testosterone.
In addition, ibuprofen also acts on other hormones produced in the testis which completely disrupt the cycle of production of sperm.
A state of “compensated hypogonadism”
In total, this study shows that the prolonged intake of pain relieving doses, i.e. medium doses of ibuprofen (1200 mg / day for 6 weeks, i.e. 3 tablets of 400 mg), has severe endocrine disrupting effects. in young men leading to a state of “compensated hypogonadism”, a condition usually seen in about 10% of older men in whom testosterone production decreases. This is usually associated with increased risks to fertility, as it is to general health.
And for Bernard Jégou, research director at Inserm and coordinator of the study “There are men who take ibuprofen continuously (…). If this state of compensated hypogonadism sets in, the risk for them is to increase the risks already linked to this drug, but also to alter their physical condition (muscles and bones) and to jeopardize their reproductive and even psychological health. “.
A molecule under surveillance
Ibuprofen is already contraindicated beyond the 6th month of pregnancy because it is responsible for fetal malformations. But, a recent study also showed that ibuprofen taken during pregnancy could also disrupt the formation of the testes of the male fetus from the first months of development in the womb.
Ibuprofen is therefore not a harmless drug. It should be taken reasonably and if the taking is prolonged, it is best to consult your doctor. And prohibit it in pregnant women and athletes absolutely.
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