Frequency of satellite association in infertile patients

ABSTRACT

Investigations were carried out on general pattern and frequency of acrocentric association in a group of patients suffering from infertility [azoospermia and oligospermia]. Two types of parameter, absolute association frequency and relative association frequency, were used. A significantly higher frequency of satellite association was found in the fourty eight hour cultured lymphocytes of oligospermic patients for either type of association parameter in comparison with that of both azoospcrmics and healthy persons. Apart from only one azoospermic patient, no significant difference was found between azoospermics and healthy persons for both absolute and relative association frequency. It is proposed that satellite association may predispose the D-group chromosome to translocate with each other and suggest that this may be a primary cause of oligospermia