One sixth of all couples have problems with conceiving a child after a year of trying. Half of those problems are associated with the male factor. And – if adding a little more math – only a quarter of them can currently be explained.
Now a study of researchers from Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands has uncovered 22 new potential genetic causes. The study was presented at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics and received great critical acclaim. This discovery will help to develop better diagnostic tests for male infertility and even prevent the risk of transmitting infertility to another generation.
The scientists studied DNA from 108 infertile men and also from their parents. Comparing the parental DNA with that of the offspring helped to identify new mutations that have influence on the process of spermatogenesis. It is too early to give these patients a definitive diagnosis as researchers need to screen more men in order to be sure of patterns in the location of the mutations that were discovered.
Even though the further studies are ongoing, it is certain that more and more male infertility cases will be treated in the upcoming years.
