Genetic Causes of Male Infertility You Should Know

Male infertility is one of the major health problems face by the male humankind today. To
understand the various causes leading to male infertility, one needs to first understand
what male infertility is. Basically, male infertility is the inability of a male to cause
pregnancy in a female. After a detailed survey is has been estimated that this health issue
affects 7% of all men and is the cause of 40-50% of all infertility.
There are a lot of causes of male infertility that has been looked into. The various causes
include physical, mental and emotional causes. In addition to these factors, there is a major
factor contributing to infertility in males, which is the genetic factor.
Genetic factors leading to male infertility
The main genetic causes of male infertility are the changes that occur to the
chromosomes or the gene mutations that take place, leading to the sperm flow
being blocked and hence, causing the issue of infertility.
The most common genetic causes of male infertility are the chromosomal
conditions that affect the production of sperms. The various syndromes/causes
include Klinefelters syndrome. This syndrome instigates the production of another X
chromosome in males. In males with Klinefelters syndrome the chromosome count
is 47XXY as opposed to 46XY in fertile males. This syndrome is said to affect 1 in 650
men, but is seldom diagnosed. The extra X chromosome is believed to have been
added in the early development of the embryo. However, siblings, especially
brothers, have normal 46XY chromosome. The various symptoms include small
testes, poor erections and low libido.
Y chromosome deletions also contribute to the major causes of male infertility. Y
chromosomes are extremely important for the production of sperms. When a Y
chromosome is deleted, it is extremely difficult to produce sperms and it has directly
lead to infertility in males. Y chromosome deletions take place in the embryo itself,
and brothers and father are not affected in the least. This syndrome usually affects
one in twenty men statistically. The disease can be diagnosed by means of blood
tests.
One of the main genetic causes of male infertility is the absence of the vas deferens
congenitally. For a layman, a vas deferens is the duct that connects the testicle to
the urethra and thus, which allows the sperms to take the same path. Congenital
Absence of Vas Deferens, rather CAVD is a rare genital problem that occurs due to
the absence of various reproductive parts like the vas deferens right from birth. This
is a very serious problem that has to be dealt at the beginning itself.
Treatment
Most of the genetic causes of male infertility are non-treatable, and even if the treatment is
available, it is very difficult to cure. For instance, there is no cure for the Klinefelters
syndrome, but the patient has to undergo lifelong testosterone therapy to maintain the
general health. Counselling is very much needed for people with Klinefelters syndrome and
their best option fir an offspring is donor insemination. The males with CAVD should have
genetic counselling to discuss the risks and treatment related to this disease. The males with
Y chromosome deletions have to understand that their condition may pass on to their
offspring as well. So they may have to look into other methods to produce an offspring.
Conclusion
The prevalence of infertility in males is very high nowadays due to modern lifestyle and also
the surrounding environment. People working in hazardous areas like nuclear power plants
are highly susceptible to infertility due to radiation from these industries. There are a lot
more genetic causes of male infertility that can be understood when the concerned doctor
is consulted. The above article gives a brief overview of the various common and major
genetic causes of male infertility and their treatment options.