Thanks for being in touch and bringing this up! (I've actually been really interested in the incredible spiraling down of male fertility that's been happening over the past few decades. It should be front page news, yet it's almost never covered by media. If it keeps on like this, nobody will be able to have natural childbirth without IVF in the next 25 years or so. I plan to do an article about it.)
Here's some rat data demonstrating that ivm on its own had a slight detrimental effect on male fertility, but when it was combined with verapamil (which inhibits a mechanism that keep drugs in the GI tract), it had a larger effect:
The reference provided is only a partial text however, so the method section was not included. So I'm not sure what dose of ivermectin was used. (Sometimes in animal studies, much higher than human doses are used.)
"Ivermectin had no adverse effects on the fertility in rats in studies at repeated doses of up to 3 times the maximum recommended human dose of 200 mcg/kg..."
Other examples of drugs that may also inhibit the same mechanism that's affected by verapamil (p glycoprotein inhibitors) may include, but are not limited to: amiodarone, clarithromycin, cyclosporin, colchicine, diltiazem, erythromycin, felodipine, ketoconazole, lansoprazole, omeprazole (and other proton-pump inhibitors), nifedipine, paroxetine, reserpine, saquinavir, sertraline, quinidine, and tamoxifen.
So it's possible that ivermectin in conjunction with any of these types of drugs could have a synergistic effect on male fertility.
Please also know however, to provide a more nuanced perspective, that there are innumerable FDA approved drugs that have been demonstrated to negatively impact male fertility.
Hi Steve, I just love benefitting from all of your research! My patients and I use Lumbrokinase - the Chinese kind called Bolouke (pronounced Boloke). I'm wondering if you looked into comparing the various natural fibrinolytics, i.e. nattokinase vs lumbrokinase vs serrapeptase? Is one safer than another? Are they interchangeable? I'd love to know what you found because I've read conflicting stories about this topic. Thank you!
I've wondered this same thing and looked into it a bit, but I can't find any direct head to head comparison re: safety and efficacy endpoints between the three.
If I was going to write about another one though, it would be lumbrokinase because it has even stronger thrombolytic properties than nattokinase, a comparable safety profile, and some decent cardiovascular medical literature behind it.
I view the strength of serrapeptase more for its anti-inflammatory benefits as its thrombolytic activity is significantly weaker than both.
Hope you're well and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
The first one was was July 2015. An optical TIA led to hospitalization. Nothing found. Two days after discharge I had a verbal TIA and prescription was to take full dose aspirin.
Next one was 2022. Visual field issues and slight speech issues. Had a full head scan. Nothing found. Take low dose aspirin.
I have had two verbal TIA since then and didn't contact doctors.
I have been taking nattokinase for about 6 months along with low dose aspirin.
Should I also take lumbrokinase or the third member of the kinease family as well?
I am 81 years old and was on 5 medications but now after lifestyle change, I am on no prescription medicines.
I'm not allowed to give medical advice on here. I hope you understand that it's not because I don't want to help or that I can't be bothered, because neither of those are the case.
There of innumerable critical details that go into giving medical advice, and when I see a new patient to try to puzzle things out, I take 3 hours at a minimum to review the whole historical background, all records, soup to nuts, to come up with a cogent diagnosis and treatment plan, which is often multifactorial. It can't be done justice in this messaging format.
What I can provide, which is not medical advice, but rather general information, not specific to your case, is that taurine may have beneficial effects for cardiovascular and stroke risk. I didn't have room to include it in the cardiovascular series. Because has a broad range of potentially helpful properties, I plan to write an article devoted to it at some point.
Wishing you well and hoping that you see a competent neurologist & cardiologist to give you expert care.
Although the vitamin K’s are necessary for clotting, taking more than the minimum necessary to make clotting factors doesn’t result in excess clotting.
And the vitamin K’s don’t negate the anti-clotting effects of nattokinase, but I see why that would seem counterintuitive.
Thanks for being in touch and bringing this up! (I've actually been really interested in the incredible spiraling down of male fertility that's been happening over the past few decades. It should be front page news, yet it's almost never covered by media. If it keeps on like this, nobody will be able to have natural childbirth without IVF in the next 25 years or so. I plan to do an article about it.)
Here's some rat data demonstrating that ivm on its own had a slight detrimental effect on male fertility, but when it was combined with verapamil (which inhibits a mechanism that keep drugs in the GI tract), it had a larger effect:
The reference provided is only a partial text however, so the method section was not included. So I'm not sure what dose of ivermectin was used. (Sometimes in animal studies, much higher than human doses are used.)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1382668908000550
The FDA package insert for ivermectin says:
"Ivermectin had no adverse effects on the fertility in rats in studies at repeated doses of up to 3 times the maximum recommended human dose of 200 mcg/kg..."
https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2009/050742s026lbl.pdf
Other examples of drugs that may also inhibit the same mechanism that's affected by verapamil (p glycoprotein inhibitors) may include, but are not limited to: amiodarone, clarithromycin, cyclosporin, colchicine, diltiazem, erythromycin, felodipine, ketoconazole, lansoprazole, omeprazole (and other proton-pump inhibitors), nifedipine, paroxetine, reserpine, saquinavir, sertraline, quinidine, and tamoxifen.
So it's possible that ivermectin in conjunction with any of these types of drugs could have a synergistic effect on male fertility.
Please also know however, to provide a more nuanced perspective, that there are innumerable FDA approved drugs that have been demonstrated to negatively impact male fertility.
Here's some info on just some of them:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2666571923000075
Hope this info helps,
SP
Hi Steve, I just love benefitting from all of your research! My patients and I use Lumbrokinase - the Chinese kind called Bolouke (pronounced Boloke). I'm wondering if you looked into comparing the various natural fibrinolytics, i.e. nattokinase vs lumbrokinase vs serrapeptase? Is one safer than another? Are they interchangeable? I'd love to know what you found because I've read conflicting stories about this topic. Thank you!
Hey Ginger!
I've wondered this same thing and looked into it a bit, but I can't find any direct head to head comparison re: safety and efficacy endpoints between the three.
If I was going to write about another one though, it would be lumbrokinase because it has even stronger thrombolytic properties than nattokinase, a comparable safety profile, and some decent cardiovascular medical literature behind it.
I view the strength of serrapeptase more for its anti-inflammatory benefits as its thrombolytic activity is significantly weaker than both.
Hope you're well and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Best,
SP
Thank you for all your hard work in researching and helping people.
Here’s an interesting twist on these compounds that I haven’t vetted yet. It would be great to hear your thoughts.
https://open.substack.com/pub/timtruth/p/dr-mike-yeadon-ivermectin-antifertility-bombshell
I have had 4 TIA's.
The first one was was July 2015. An optical TIA led to hospitalization. Nothing found. Two days after discharge I had a verbal TIA and prescription was to take full dose aspirin.
Next one was 2022. Visual field issues and slight speech issues. Had a full head scan. Nothing found. Take low dose aspirin.
I have had two verbal TIA since then and didn't contact doctors.
I have been taking nattokinase for about 6 months along with low dose aspirin.
Should I also take lumbrokinase or the third member of the kinease family as well?
I am 81 years old and was on 5 medications but now after lifestyle change, I am on no prescription medicines.
Hi,
So sorry to hear all this!
I'm not allowed to give medical advice on here. I hope you understand that it's not because I don't want to help or that I can't be bothered, because neither of those are the case.
There of innumerable critical details that go into giving medical advice, and when I see a new patient to try to puzzle things out, I take 3 hours at a minimum to review the whole historical background, all records, soup to nuts, to come up with a cogent diagnosis and treatment plan, which is often multifactorial. It can't be done justice in this messaging format.
What I can provide, which is not medical advice, but rather general information, not specific to your case, is that taurine may have beneficial effects for cardiovascular and stroke risk. I didn't have room to include it in the cardiovascular series. Because has a broad range of potentially helpful properties, I plan to write an article devoted to it at some point.
Wishing you well and hoping that you see a competent neurologist & cardiologist to give you expert care.
Best,
SP
Hi Dr Phillips-
I appreciate your article - I am a user of Nattokinase.
I confused about the role of K2 in combination with Nattokinase.
Isn't K2 involved in bIood clotting?
If one uses Nattokinase for blood thinning purposes, wouldn't K2 negate the affects?
Thank you!
Hi,
Thanks for this great question!
Although the vitamin K’s are necessary for clotting, taking more than the minimum necessary to make clotting factors doesn’t result in excess clotting.
And the vitamin K’s don’t negate the anti-clotting effects of nattokinase, but I see why that would seem counterintuitive.
Best,
SP