The Snip Can Cause Dementia
By Sarah Gillham
When it comes to birth control it’s generally the female of our species that takes the more proactive approach, especially with the ease and lack of side-effects of the contraceptive pill these days.
Unfortunately (for females), however, this trend is likely to continue as recent studies have shown that those brave men opting for the more permanent solution are putting themselves at risk. New research has shown a possible link between ‘the snip’ and onset of Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) – that’s dementia to you and I.
PPA is a neurological disease in which the understanding and execution of speech becomes increasingly difficult.
Sandra Weintraub of Northwestern University was alerted to a possible correlation after one of her patients, having linked the onset of his own dementia to his vasectomy rushed in to one of her support groups for PPA patients. ‘How many of you had a vasectomy?’ he demanded. When 8 of the 9 hands went up, she knew they were on to something.
In order to test the hypothesis, Weintraub and her team surveyed 47 men with PPA that were currently receiving treatment and 57 with no cognitive impairment.
The results were astonishing; only 16% of the control group had had the snip compared to a startling 40% of the men with PPA. The results also indicated that the mean age for developing PPA was lower in men who had had vasectomies compared with those who had not, this being 58 and 62 years respectively.
While this does seem a significant find, Weintraub, who is also director of neuropsychology in the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Centre states that ‘it doesn’t mean having a vasectomy will give you this disease, but it may be a risk factor to increase your chance of getting it’.
The study also connected a slightly different form of dementia called Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) to having a vasectomy. Out of 30 men suffering from FTD, 30% had undergone a vasectomy, much higher than the national average.
FTD differs from PPA in that symptoms are associated more with abnormal behaviour and personality changes such as compulsive gambling, shoplifting and even increased sexual appetite!
No link has been found between Alzheimer’s, the most common neurological disorder in the over 65’s and vasectomies.
One possible theory for the link between PPA and vasectomies is that the protective barrier between blood and testes is breeched during the procedure. This barrier prevents cross-contamination; therefore once it is broken by a vasectomy, semen can mix in to the blood causing activation of the immune system and anti-sperm antibodies. These antibodies might subsequently cross the blood-brain barrier and cause dementia.
Men might see this as nature’s way of begging us not to meddle with what should be pure and natural. And as far as I can see, a vasectomy is like detaching the brain from the rest of the body – so of course there are going to be side effects!
Join our groups on Facebook and MySpace and talk rubbish with the best of them.
Unfortunately (for females), however, this trend is likely to continue as recent studies have shown that those brave men opting for the more permanent solution are putting themselves at risk. New research has shown a possible link between ‘the snip’ and onset of Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) – that’s dementia to you and I.
PPA is a neurological disease in which the understanding and execution of speech becomes increasingly difficult.
Sandra Weintraub of Northwestern University was alerted to a possible correlation after one of her patients, having linked the onset of his own dementia to his vasectomy rushed in to one of her support groups for PPA patients. ‘How many of you had a vasectomy?’ he demanded. When 8 of the 9 hands went up, she knew they were on to something.
In order to test the hypothesis, Weintraub and her team surveyed 47 men with PPA that were currently receiving treatment and 57 with no cognitive impairment.
The results were astonishing; only 16% of the control group had had the snip compared to a startling 40% of the men with PPA. The results also indicated that the mean age for developing PPA was lower in men who had had vasectomies compared with those who had not, this being 58 and 62 years respectively.
While this does seem a significant find, Weintraub, who is also director of neuropsychology in the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Centre states that ‘it doesn’t mean having a vasectomy will give you this disease, but it may be a risk factor to increase your chance of getting it’.
The study also connected a slightly different form of dementia called Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) to having a vasectomy. Out of 30 men suffering from FTD, 30% had undergone a vasectomy, much higher than the national average.
FTD differs from PPA in that symptoms are associated more with abnormal behaviour and personality changes such as compulsive gambling, shoplifting and even increased sexual appetite!
No link has been found between Alzheimer’s, the most common neurological disorder in the over 65’s and vasectomies.
One possible theory for the link between PPA and vasectomies is that the protective barrier between blood and testes is breeched during the procedure. This barrier prevents cross-contamination; therefore once it is broken by a vasectomy, semen can mix in to the blood causing activation of the immune system and anti-sperm antibodies. These antibodies might subsequently cross the blood-brain barrier and cause dementia.
Men might see this as nature’s way of begging us not to meddle with what should be pure and natural. And as far as I can see, a vasectomy is like detaching the brain from the rest of the body – so of course there are going to be side effects!
Join our groups on Facebook and MySpace and talk rubbish with the best of them.
