Overweight and obese men are more prone to infertility-myth or fact?

To investigate the association of sub-fertility/ infertility with increased BMI in overweight and obese men and in control group in Karnataka, South India. In this pilot study 20 overweight and obese men, aged 25-45, and 10 normal-weighed men with proven fertility were included. Both groups were married. All cases and controls were evaluated for different semen parameters according to World Health Organization [WHO] standards. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS software, version 16.0. P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Different infertile conditions are evident among overweight and obese individuals recruited for this study. Variations in the semen parameter are significant in obese men compared to controls but sperm function test does not show statistical significant values in overweight and obese men when compared with control group. In case of oligoasthenospermic subjects pH shows a significant increase [p=0.002] compared to controls. Also the levels of Fructose show a significant decline in both azoospermic [p<0.001] and oligoasthenosermic [p=0.002] groups when compared to control group. With reference to the data obtained from this pilot study we found that increased BMI in men affects the semen quality which ultimately results in decreased fertility rate in men

Association of phenylthiocarbamide taste blindness trait with early onset of childhood obesity in Mysore

Ability to taste Phenylthiocarbamide [PTC] a bitter compound is widely used to know the heritable trait in both genetic and anthropological studies. The study is based on the ability of a person to sense the taste of PTC. Inability to taste has also been associated with medical illness not typically with taste impairment, so far no study has yet proved whether PTC blindness correlates with childhood obesity. This study is the first attempt to examine PTC sensitivity in obese children and healthy children to determine variation in the perception of bitter tastes which is associated with eating behavior, body mass index, and childhood obesity. The present investigation is carried out in Mysore, during years 2008 - 2009. Phenylthiocarbamide taste sensitivity was measured by administering PTC solution for obese and control children by modified method of Harris and Kalmus. The result focused that tasters were significantly more frequent [67%] than non-tasters [33%] in control population. A higher proportion of non-tasters were observed in obese children [72%] when compare to non-obese subjects [28%]. These differences were not explained by alterations in perception of basic taste sensitivity or age. Increased frequency of non-taster allele is evident in children with obese condition. This could be due to lack of preference for food among non-tasters. As the phenotypic variation in PTC sensitivity is genetic in origin, it may represent a surrogate risk factor for the development of childhood obesity

Rare association of Turner syndrome with neurofibromatosis type 1 and tuberous sclerosis complex.

We report a rare association of Turner syndrome with both Neurofibromatosis type I and Tuberous Sclerosis. The patient had XOkaryotype with Turners stigmata and also had features of Neurofibromatosis 1 in the form of significant café-au-lait spots and Plexiform neurofibroma along with typical features of Tuberous Sclerosis complex. Pedigree analysis revealed that the elder brother of the proband in the family also suffered from Tuberous Sclerosis without the manifestation of Neurofibromatosis or any other genetic disorders. We hypothesize that these associations could be due to new independent mutations and also increased maternal and paternal age in a pre-disposition of Turner syndrome.