FERTILITY STUDY Male laptop users feel temperature rising

A university study found that heat from computers can affect testicular function.
SCRIPPS HOWARD
All that computer time on the road or at home may be taking more of a toll on some men than they realize.
Reproductive experts warn in a new study that heat generated by laptop computers can have an adverse effect on male fertility.
The study, reported today's in the journal Human Reproduction, showed that testicular temperatures rose by between 4.6 and 5 degrees Fahrenheit in an hour among a group of healthy male volunteers.
"Laptops can reach internal operating temperatures of over 158 degrees, they are frequently positioned close to the scrotum and as well as being capable of producing direct local heat, they require the user to sit with thighs close together to balance the machine," said Dr. Yefim Shenykin, associate professor of urology and director of Male Infertility and Microsurgery at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Shenykin and colleagues worked with 29 healthy volunteers ages 21 to 35, measuring testicular temperatures with and without working laptops during two one-hour sessions.
5 degrees warmer
Previous studies have shown that increases in testicular temperatures between 1.8 and 5.2 degrees have a sustained negative effect on sperm development and fertility.
"The body needs to maintain a proper testicular temperature for normal sperm production and development," Shenykin said. "Portable computers in a laptop position produce scrotal hyperthermia by both the direct heating effect of the computer and the sitting position necessary to balance the computer."
The researcher noted that by next year, some 60 million laptop computers will be in use in the United States and some 150 million worldwide. "Continued improvements in power, size and price of laptop computers have favored their increased use in younger people," Shenykin said.