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Traditionally, men who want to undergo fertility tests have to wait for quite some time before they get answers. These men have to submit their sperm samples for analysis, and because a single sample is rarely representative of a man's average semen characteristics, doctors usually order for several sperm samples to be collected over a few months. This way, the analysis typically produces more accurate results.
But all that has changed - researchers led by the Washington State University have recently discovered differences in the molecular structure of the sperm in infertile men, and they say that this could “pave the way” for a male fertility test that’s more immediate and accurate.
Sperm DNA of fertile men vs infertile men do not look alike
In their study, the researchers analysed the sperm DNA of both fertile and infertile men, and found that infertile men possessed a specific biomarker (a naturally occurring molecule, gene, or characteristic by which a particular pathological or physiological process can be identified) that fertile men did not.
On top of that, the researchers also identified a separate biomarker that could indicate whether an individual would respond well to Hormone Therapy Treatment, which is used to treat patients whose infertility is caused by a lack of testosterone. Their findings have since been published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Look forward to a faster, more effective fertility test for men
Following their success, the researchers are now moving forward with a larger clinical trial that will potentially help them pioneer a test that predicts a man’s fertility based on the absence of presence of this biomarker.
Professor Michael Skinner, a reproductive biologist at Washington State University, noted that having a diagnostic that could immediately tell you that your patient is infertile, and present you with the treatment options that would work for him, would be “immensely useful”.
He also went on to mention that his team is also looking into investigating a “similar diagnostic” for determining how patients with arthritis and neurodegenerative diseases such as autism will respond to different treatments.
As Professor Skinner says, in the area of therapeutics where many of the drugs on the market only work for “a fraction of patients”, this could save patients both time and money, and also facilitate much better healthcare management.
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