Assessment of Potential Effects of Magnetic Resonance Imaging on Adult Male Mouse Fertility

Currently, the use of electromagnetic waves in medicine, especially in diagnostic devices such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has increased and many of its biological effects have been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the adverse effects of 1.5 T MRI on fertility and reproductive parameters of male mice. Forty NMRI adult male mice were randomly divided into two groups of control and experimental. The mice in the experimental group were exposed to MRI at 1.5T for 36 minutes once a week for a period of 3 weeks. Then, in the 1st day and 35th day after the final exposure, 10 mice were used for IVF and 10 mice for In vivo studies. MRI effects on testis weight, the duration of pregnancy, the number of newborns, sperm count, and fertility were evaluated. The obtained data were analyzed by using ANOVA and Tukey’s tests. According to the present study, one day after MRI exposure, testis weight, sperm count, and the number of born children were significantly decreased in the experimental group (P <0.05). Moreover, a significant number of the embryos failed to develop to the blastocyst stage. In contrast, 35 days after exposure, no statistically significant difference was found (P> 0.05). Discussion & Based on the results of the present study, it seems that although the MRI at 1.5T has adverse effects on fertility and reproductive parameters of the adult male mice, these side-effects are reversible.