Male age and progeny

Abstract

Testicular aging affects simultaneously the individual and his lineage. In the individual, changes in the vascular and endocrine systems, in the blood-testis barrier and in Sertoli cells, because of increasing age, lead to a decrease in the number of spermatozoa and an alteration in their form and motility. Gamete quality is also low in very young men. These changes lead to a gradual decrease of fertility. In the progeny, paternal aging is responsible for new dominant autosomic mutations which themselves cause different malformations such as achondroplasia, Apert's or Recklinghausen disease, Marfan's syndrome, and, perhaps, certain chromosome X-linked recessive mutations such as Duchenne's myopathy or hemophilia A. Moreover, in mouse, rat and man, a very young age and paternal aging seem to be responsible for a gradual lowering in the level of cognitive functions in the progeny. Thus, the curve corresponding to this phenomenon presents an inverted U-shape, of which the top corresponds in man to about 30 years of paternal age. Maternal age does not appear to play a part in this event. These results pose the problem of the optimum age for fatherhood.

Key Words:

• MALE AGE
• SPERM
• GENETIC MATURATION
• MUTATIONS
• PROGENY
• GENETIC SYNDROMES
• BEHAVIORAL TROUBLES