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Clarifying the link between ibuprofen and hypogonadism

Nature Reviews Urology volume 16, page 201 (2019)Cite this article

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In a 2018 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA1, we concluded that ibuprofen alters pituitary–testis endocrine balance via selective transcriptional repression in the testis, resulting in compensated hypogonadism. This paper was discussed in a commentary by Nangia and Jensen (Ibuprofen and hypogonadism — bench to bedside to misinterpreted hype? Nat. Rev. Urol. 15, 268–269 (2018))2. Our study involved a clinical trial performed in men aged 18–35 years and exposure of adult human testes explants and a human steroidogenic cell line to ibuprofen, which is frequently used as an analgesic and often used prophylactically at high doses by athletes3,4.

In their commentary, Nangia and Jensen2 claim that the original paper argues that the class of medication to which ibuprofen belongs is the specific cause of the reduction of overall male reproductive health and male reproductive deterioration. However, this statement is contradicted by the actual content of the paper, which emphasizes that establishing the possible effect of ibuprofen on sperm production and fertility would require the design of specific experiments. Contextualization of our findings by mentioning the general concern about declining male reproductive health should not be confused with our speculations regarding the significance of our data.

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References

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  1. Univ Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail) - UMR_S1085, F-35000 Rennes, France

    Bernard Jégou & David M. Kristensen

  2. Department of Neurology, Danish Headache Center, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    David M. Kristensen

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  1. Bernard Jégou
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  2. David M. Kristensen
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Correspondence to Bernard Jégou.

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Jégou, B., Kristensen, D.M. Clarifying the link between ibuprofen and hypogonadism. Nat Rev Urol 16, 201 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41585-019-0146-x

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