Hydroxyurea does not affect the spermatogonial pool in prepubertal patients with sickle cell disease
Anne‐Sophie Gille, Corinne Pondarré, Jean‐Hugues Dalle, Françoise Bernaudin, Céline Chalas, Mony Fahd, C Jean, Harry Lezeau, Lydia Riou, Véronique Drouineaud, Annabel Paye‐Jaouen, Annie Kamdem, Bénédicte Neven, Cécile Arnaud, Saba Azarnoush, Karima Yakouben, Sabine Sarnacki, Mariane de Montalembert, Éva Compérat, Gilles Lenaour, Mathilde Sibony, Nathalie Dhédin, Daniel Vaiman, Jean‐Philippe Wolf, Catherine Patrat, Pierre Fouchet, Catherine Poirot, Virginie Barraud‐Lange
Abstract
In these two short reports, the authors approach the issue of whether hydroxyurea (HU) use in young males has major irreversible effects on sperm production. Joseph et al analyzed and compared sperm parameters in male patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) who were exposed or not exposed to HU before puberty. They report semen abnormalities in all patients but no differences between groups. Independently, Gille et al provide evidence for the lack of in vivo HU-related decreases in the spermatogonial pool in biopsy specimens from young males with SCD but evidence for a negative effect of SCD itself. Together, these reports suggest that the use of HU in young males does not adversely affect fertility.