What Is Infertility?
Infertility is defined as being unable to conceive after 12 consecutive months of attempting to do so. Male infertility is just as common as female infertility, and can be due to a larger range of hormonal, environmental, lifestyle and genetic factors.
Researching Linking Infertility & MTHFR
Varicocele is the presence of widened veins, like varicose veins on the outside of the testicle and is one of the main reasons for male infertility. The MTHFR enzyme is also vital for production of healthy DNA, which is needed to create healthy sperm.
Therefore, Ucar et al (2014) evaluated the presence of C677T and A1298C in patients with varicocele and also in normal men, as literature suggests MTHFR polymorphisms may be a risk factor for male infertility.
The 1298AA allele was found to be higher in the patient group compared to controls, with result showing 1298AA increased the risk of varicocele by approximately 2.3 times when compared to men carrying other genotypes.
