The new study relates to babies born via intracytoplasmic sperm injection, which is an IVF (in vitro fertilization) treatment pioneered during the 1990s. Doctors in Belgium have tracked 54 boy born via this process, according to The Guardian.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection was developed to tackle male infertility specifically. The process requires selecting a healthy sperm and injecting it into an egg before the resulting embryo is implanted into the mother. It is a common IVF procedure. The process may also be used where eggs cannot easily be penetrated by sperm. The technique was developed by Gianpiero Palermo at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, in the Center for Reproductive Medicine.
At the time the technique was developed (the first test case was in 1989) medics were concerned that baby boys born from this procedure would go on to inherit their father’s infertility. The implication being that future generations of boys would always be reliant upon intracytoplasmic sperm injection, should they ever wish to become parents.
Tracking some of the first men to be born using the process (54 men now aged between 18 and 22), the medics, led by Andre Van Steirteghem of Vrije Universiteit, have found the men to have around half the sperm concentration of naturally conceived men. In addition, they have a 62 percent lower sperm count, and 66 percent lower sperm motility (which assesses how well sperm can move).
While the results are of interest, it should be noted that this research has limitations that affect its reliability, including the small size of the study. For instance, it remains to be determined how many of the men sampled will require fertility treatment themselves. Moreover, the study itself cannot prove that fertility issues have been directly inherited from the father or are the result of intracytoplasmic sperm injection. What the study shows is an association.
The research has been published in the journal Human Reproduction, in a study titled “Semen quality of young adult ICSI offspring: the first results.”
