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Causes of infertility studied

Dr Mohammed said that poor ovulation is the commonest cause of infertility in women. He said obesity could lead to infertility since obesity affects the balance of sex hormones in the body which in turn affects the ovary and results in poor ovulation.

"Ovulation is the main process of the female reproductive cycle and the lack of ovulation is the commonest cause of infertility. It is a very peculiar phenomenon where the body inflicts on to itself a small wound on the ovary in order to release an egg, called an oocyte," Dr Mohammed said.

He said that ovulation is a very complicated process, finely tuned and in which several factors intervene, factors like endocrine hormones or growth factors or inflammations. Any disturbance in any one of these factors leads ovulation to be blocked and as a consequence the female fertility cycle is disrupted.

Dr Mohammed said that recent developments in genetics gives a better understanding of the process of ovulation and the future hold promise for a genetic drugs to treat infertility. He said that a condition known as glucose intolerance, a minor form of diabetes, would also lead to poor ovulation. Identification of cellular defects in the oocyte has pointed to a new form of infertility, "egg-factor" infertility.

A defect in the mitochondria, a sub-cellular structure inherited from the mother, can give an abnormal set of chromosomes in the oocytes. The infertility drugs widely used today are quite safe but there is a need to have a second look at their safety.

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