Kuwait Infertility is one of the major public health problems, affecting 15% of couples who attempt pregnancy; in 50% of these, the male partner is

Responsible."


Volume 39 Issue 3 Page 87-92, June 2007
To cite this article: F. Mohammed, F. Al-Yatama, M. Al-Bader, S. M. Tayel, S. Gouda, K. K. Naguib (2007) Primary male infertility in Kuwait: a cytogenetic and molecular study of 289 infertile Kuwaiti patients Andrologia 39 (3), 87–92. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0272.2007.00769.x

Abstract
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Primary male infertility in Kuwait: a cytogenetic and molecular study of 289 infertile Kuwaiti patients
F. Mohammed11 Faculty of Allied Health, Kuwait University, Jabria, Kuwait,
F. Al-Yatama11 Faculty of Allied Health, Kuwait University, Jabria, Kuwait,
M. Al-Bader22 Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Jabria, Kuwait,
S. M. Tayel33 Cytogenetics Unit, Department of Anatomy & Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt,
S. Gouda44 Kuwait Medical Genetics Center, Ministry of Health, Shuwaikh, Kuwait &
K. K. Naguib44 Kuwait Medical Genetics Center, Ministry of Health, Shuwaikh, Kuwait
1 Faculty of Allied Health, Kuwait University, Jabria, Kuwait; 2 Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Jabria, Kuwait; 3 Cytogenetics Unit, Department of Anatomy & Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt; 4 Kuwait Medical Genetics Center, Ministry of Health, Shuwaikh, Kuwait
Fawziah M. A. Mohammed, PO Box 31470, Sulaibikat 90805, Kuwait. Tel.: +965 487 2458;Fax: +965 487 7477;E-mail: fawziahmam@hsc.edu.kw
Summary
Infertility is one of the major public health problems, affecting 15% of couples who attempt pregnancy; in 50% of these, the male partner is responsible. Chromosomal abnormalities and Y microdeletions in the azoospermia factor (AZF) region are known to be associated with spermatogenetic failure. In the present study, 289 patients with primary male infertility because of spermatogenetic failure were studied in order to highlight the molecular background of male infertility in Kuwait, and to avoid the possibility of transmission of any microdeletions/chromosomal aberrations to offspring via intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Of the 289 infertile men, 23 patients (8%) had chromosomal aberration in the form of Klinefelter syndrome/variant (16/23; 69.6%), XYY syndrome (3/23; 13%), XX male syndrome (2/23; 8.7%), 45,X/46X, i(Yp)(1/23; 4.4%) and 45,XY, t(9;22) (1/23;4.4%). Y-chromosome microdeletion in the AZFb and AZFc regions were detected in 7/266 cases (2.6%). Testicular biopsy was carried out in 31 azoospermic patients, of whom five men had Sertoli-cell only syndrome, while 26 patients had spermatogenic arrest. In conclusion, this study showed that the frequency of both chromosomal anomalies and Y microdeletions were found in 10.4% of the infertile men. The potential risk of transmitting these genetic disorders to offspring provides a rationale for screening infertile men prior to ICSI.