DISCUSSING INFERTILITY: M.R.S. Rao of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (centre) with N.P. Gupta, Head, Department of Urology, AIIMS, New Delhi (right), and R.R. Dighe, Chairman, Department of MRDG, IISc., at a conference in Bangalore on Friday on `Male Reproduction and Infertility.' — Photo: K. Gopinathan

BANGALORE: Infertility among Indian men is higher than among other races because of the greater incidence of deletion of certain genes in the Y chromosome in Indians, K. Thangaraj, scientist at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad, said here on Friday.

While it is estimated that 9 per cent of Caucasian men have reduced fertility or are completely infertile, in Indian men the incidence of infertility is around 15 per cent, Mr. Thangaraj said at the inaugural session of a conference on "Male Reproduction and Infertility."

Most of the infertility in men, Mr. Thangaraj said, is caused by the deletion in the Y chromosome of genes involved in sperm production. A study of 560 men between the age group of 35 to 50 at the Centre in Hyderabad from 2001 to 2003, Mr. Thangaraj said, revealed that 11.5 per cent of the men were infertile because of this genetic reason. Since the Y chromosome is passed on from generation to generation, the chances of more Indian men being born infertile are high. "Indian men are at high risk. The ethnic base for this problem is already high, and it is compounded by the fact that there is no treatment for it," he said. Other reasons for infertility among men include mutation of genes, he said. The study revealed that 5.5 per cent of the men were infertile because of mutations in the mitochondrial DNA, which is essential for sperm mobility.

M.R.S Rao from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research said the scientific community working in the area of male contraception needs to involve social scientists also in the research work.

Peter Chan, urologist at the McGill University of Health in Canada, said testicular cancer and osteoporosis are often linked to male infertility.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail