Evolution of male fertility as a function of age and risks in progeny

1: Contracept Fertil Sex (Paris). 1991 Nov;19(11):945-9. Links
[Evolution of male fertility as a function of age and risks in progeny][Article in French]
Auroux MR.
PIP: Testicular aging starts form age 30 with progressive deterioration of vascularization, the density of capillaries, the diminution of the efficacy of the blood-testis barrier, the aging of Sertoli cells, which results in fall of production of androgen-binding protein. These changes lead to a slow reduction of the number of spermatozoa, although it is their quality that is responsible for male fertility. Analysis of the number, morphology, and mobility of spermatozoa of men aged 25-59 showed that the quality varies depending on age: the maximum values are reached between age 25 and 35, decreasing afterwards. The aging finally results in a degradation of the number and especially in the quality of spermatozoa, which is not satisfactory in individuals of very young age either. Whether male of female, parental aging poses a problem, because fertility diminishes and the risk of anomalies of the conceptus increase with the age of parents. It has been demonstrated that the new, autosomal dominant mutations responsible for fetal deaths or the numerous malformation syndromes, such as achondroplasia, Apert's disease, ossifying fibrodysplasia, and Marfan's syndrome, may be linked to paternal aging. The frequency of each of these syndromes is very low: 15-28 cases per million births for achondroplasia. Also, the frequency of anomalies attributable to paternal aging after the 40s reaches .3-.5% of births. Neurofibromatosis or von Recklinghausen's disease, hemophilia A, the myopathy of Duchenne, schizophrenia, and the performance of 18-year-old males on psychometric tests have been associated with paternal aging. The aging of gonads cannot be prevented, but one could avoid the consequences of the aging of gametes by avoiding having children after 35 or 40 years of age. This has been recommended to women for about 15 years, and perhaps should also be recommended to men.

PMID: 12284763 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]