MARIJUANA MAY HURT COUPLES' CONCEPTION ODDS

Studies Find Fertilization Inhibited By Compound That Resembles Cannabis

In a finding that could send shivers down the spines of pot-smoking couples
hoping to conceive, new research is raising the possibility that marijuana
could interfere with reproduction.

New studies show that a cannabis-like compound inhibits the ability of
human sperm to fertilize an egg. Also, high concentrations of THC -- the
psychoactive ingredient in marijuana -- appear to cause structural changes
in sperm as they become ready and able to reach and fuse with a woman's egg.

While pot smoking may not yet qualify as a contraceptive, the findings
presented yesterday at the American Society for Cell Biology meeting at
Moscone Center in San Francisco are some of the first indications that
marijuana use could reduce fertility in both men and women.

Previous research has shown a link between heavy pot smoking and low sperm
counts. The latest study focuses on a substance called anandamide that is
produced by the body and which acts very much like THC on a cellular level.

It is one of a class of substances called cannabinoids that bind to
receptors on cells that also respond to THC. Cannabinoids are found
throughout the body and their affect on various systems is only now being
studied.

In a series of experiments, researchers at the University of Buffalo-SUNY
found that a synthetic form of anandamide reduced by half the number of
sperm that were able to attach to a human egg. Furthermore, high
concentrations of anandamide slowed down sperm's swimming ability, while
low levels kicked it into overdrive.

The researchers also bathed human sperm in solutions containing either THC
or anandamide and found that both substances significantly altered the
normal structural changes sperm go through as they prepare to approach and
bind with an egg.

Frequent Use May Cause Trouble

"For people who are very heavy marijuana users, there may be reproductive
consequences associated with that," said Herbert Schuel, a professor of
anatomy and cell biology at the University of Buffalo and lead author of
the study.

More generally, Schuel said, it is possible that glitches in the normal
anandamide system could be linked to some cases of unexplained infertility.

Gregory Kopf, a professor in the obstetrics and gynecology department at
the University of Pennsylvania, said he was intrigued by the findings, but
added that he was not sure that the concentrations of anandamide used in
the experiments would ever be reached in the reproductive tracts of people
who smoke pot.

Kopf's research focuses on the signals between cells that occur when an egg
is fertilized and begins to divide into an embryo.

Although there have been anecdotal reports of marijuana's adverse effect on
fetal development and fertility, there have been virtually no formal
studies to show whether or not a link exists, said S.K. Dey of the
University of Kansas Medical Center.

A Compound's Complex Effects

Dey has shown that, in mice, excessive amounts of anandamide or an
unusually large number of receptors for it on an embryo increases the risk
that the fetus will miscarry. Furthermore, he said, in a normal mouse
pregnancy, the number of the receptors and the level of anandamide both go
down just before the embryo is implanted.

Dey has followed Schuel's research and said he is one of the few scientists
focusing on cannabinoids and their effects on the human body outside of the
brain.

"People have gotten so focused on the brain function (of anandamide and
related compounds) and very little focus has been on its effect on early
pregnancy," he said.

Schuel said the federal government's restrictive stance on marijuana-
related research has hindered the field. But he said it is attracting more
interest as scientists learn more about how cannabinoids affect everything
from circulation to digestion to cancer.