[Toxicology of reproduction and development. Changes in the male reproductive function caused by drugs and pollutants: potential effects on offspring]. / Tossicologia della riproduzione e dello sviluppo. Alterazioni della funzione riproduttiva maschile da farmaci e inquinanti: possibili effetti sulla progenie.

Published clinical observations underline the difficulty of defining with epidemiological studies the effects that chemicals such as drugs, illicit substances environmental and workplace pollutants might have on the offspring through the male parent. The Authors highlight how defining this issue might help both guide preclinical research and evaluate correctly clinical observations which are often difficult to interpret based only on observations in the female parent. Clinical research already available shows that some chemicals are able to modify fertility by acting either at the neuroendocrine level or on the testis. However, it is more difficult to identify and quantify the potential damage to the offsprings during the different phases of pregnancy and postnatal life. Finally, the Authors discuss the parameters that should be considered to obtain an algorithm for evaluating the reproductive risk in males, along the lines of the risk for the embryo and fetus due to the use of drugs during pregnancy. Moreover, it is suggested that among the unwanted effects of drugs and pollutants, those related to the different components and phases of the male reproductive function be reported also in relation to the patient's age.

[Toxicology of reproduction and development. Pregnancy and periods of risks from drugs]. / Tossicologia della riproduzione e dello sviluppo. Gravidanza e periodi di rischio da farmaci.

The authors discuss the possibilities of drug interference with the reproductive system and especially during various stages of pregnancy: from the sequence of neurochemical events that condition the release of pituitary gonadotrophines at the level of the central nervous system to late events that may occur during development. After listing the periods of risk, drug-induced changes in the conceptus are illustrated on the basis of data registered in the literature. In this context, it is stressed that the dysmorphogenic effect is limited to the period of differentiation and organogenesis whereas it is becoming more and more obvious that drugs may also have variable effects on other stages of pregnancy where frequently they have specific pharmacodynamic actions on the fetus. The knowledge of these effects may be useful in order to avoid untoward actions on pregnancy or on embryo, fetus, neonate or postnatal development, but may also create a basis for in utero drug treatments of fetal pathologies.