Drug-induced infertility
Buchanan, J.F.; Davis, L.J.
Drug Intelligence and Clinical Pharmacy 18(2): 122-132
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0012-6578 PMID: 6141923 DOI: 10.1177/106002808401800205Document Number: 403954
Primary infertility may result from the use of various drugs. This phenomenon may be the result of an effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis or a direct toxic effect on the gonads. Some of the drugs considered in this article demonstrate sex-related differences in their ability to cause infertility; there also may be age-related differences. The drugs described in this review, with regard to their association with the development of infertility, include various individual antineoplastic agents (cyclophosphamide, chlorambucil, busulphan, and methotrexate) and combinations of these chemotherapeutic drugs, glucocorticosteroids, hormonal steroids (diethylstilbestrol, medroxyprogesterone acetate, estrogen, and the constituents of oral contraceptives), antibiotics (sulfasalazine and cotrimoxazole), thyroid supplements, spironolactone, cimetidine, colchicine, marijuana, opiates, and neuroleptic agents.