
TY  - JOUR
A1  - J Alexander, Nancy 
T1  - Possible Mechanisms of Vasectomy-exacerbated Atherosclerosis
JF  - Australian Journal of Biological Sciences
JO  - Aust. Jnl. Of Bio. Sci.
Y1  - 1982
VL  - 35
IS  - 5
SP  - 469
EP  - 480
KW  - 
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1071/BI9820469 
N2  - Our laboratory as well as those of others have demonstrated that in experimental animals vasectomy results in immune-complex deposition not only in the reproductive tract but also in the renal glomerulus. We have shown that in two species of monkeys vasectomy results in a significant increase in atherosclerosis and have postulated that this may be due to circulating immune complexes. We have shown a mild change in arteriolar vessels in a small study of vasectomized men and have found a mild but insignificant increase in systolic blood pressure in vasectomized men over time compared to an age-matched group. One cannot ignore the fact that persistent autoimmune responses to spermatozoal antigens are generated in both vasectomized men and animals. The paucity of direct information about whether vasectomy exacerbates atherosclerosis in human subjects has made reliance on animal studies unavoidable. But to date there is no evidence that vasectomy causes a similar effect in human beings. 
ER  -

