Emerging worldwide evidences in support of adverse effects of
cannabis smoke indicate its significant role in declining male fertility. The
aim of the present study was to compare the percentage of damaged
sperm cells and the expression profiles of cell survival protein p-Akt and
pro-apoptotic protein Bax in non-smoker, tobacco smoke addicted and cannabis
smoke addicted subfertile subjects.
Since last few decades, a sharp decline in male fecundity
has been observed all over the world. In addition to congenital abnormalities,
environmental and occupational exposures, changed lifestyle factors were
also found to impact male reproductive health. Several studies reported direct
association of excessive tobacco and alcohol consumption with the declining
male fertility . Emerging studies have also correlated addiction to cannabis
smoke with poor semen quality of men.Contents of cannabis smoke reduce
antioxidant defence mechanism and increase oxidative stress in seminal plasma.
It has been estimated
that around 150 million people across the globe were addicted to cannabis in
the beginning of this millennia .The hallucinogenic effects caused by this
recreational drug, entices
people of different age groups and socio-economic classes in different
countries all over the world. ‘Cannabis’ is a generic term used for marijuana,
hashish and hash oil and it is derived from the Cannabis sativa plant.
Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the unique compound of cannabis with major
psychoactive effects and is said to act upon a specific cannabinoid receptor
(CB1) in the brain.In the 1990s, it was observed that cannabinoid compounds are naturally synthesized in human body from fatty acid derivatives termed as endogenous cannabinoids or endocannabinoids . Endocannabinoids modulate several pathophysiologic processes like neuropathic pain, movement disorders such as Parkinson disease, Huntington disease and many other conditions like atherosclerosis, obesity as well as reproductive health. However, the association between cannabis smoking and cancer is highly disputed as different case-control studies had inferred different result. Both cannabinoid and nicotine receptors are coupled to the protein kinase B (Akt) signalling pathway. Akt is a serine threonine kinase which induces anti-apoptotic signal and inhibits apoptosis. However, the role of Akt coupled with cannabinoid receptor, varies from one disease to another
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