The health world recently stumbled upon a novel cause of male infertility. An international team of scientists from the University of Dundee has discovered a gene that leads to male infertility. This gene is probably associated with a condition termed as round headed sperm or globozoospermia that affects a small percentage of men suffering from infertility problems.
The precise cause of the condition was apparently under wraps, but the identification of a genetic defect supposedly has a sterilizing effect on men’s sperm. While conducting the study, investigators laid hands on a family of five brothers in Jordan who were diagnosed with globozoospermia. Four out of the five brothers allegedly had the genetic defect. Also other men with the disorder from France and North Africa reportedly had the defective gene.
Detection of the probable genetic defect has now allowed scientists to come up with successful treatments. Even though only a small fraction of the population suffers from infertility problems due to round headed sperm, the study findings may have major implications. In conclusion, Professor Christopher Barratt, of the Reproductive and Developmental Biology Group in the School of Medicine at Dundee and colleagues has established a clear cause of globozoospermia.
The study is published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.