An update of assisted reproductive technologies results in the United States

The etiology of compromised spermatogenesis is often genetic. Because male subfertility has been associated with a higher incidence of genomic defects, ranging from aneuploidy to Yq microdeletions, concerns have been raised as to the risk of transmitting genetic defects to the offspring. Thus, screening for such defects can be important for appropriate counseling prior to intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment. However, only a few reports of father-son cohorts have evaluated the heritability of mutations associated with male factor infertility, as well as the well-being of the children. Because of their invasiveness and their ability to treat severely infertile men known to carry genetic defects, assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), and ICSI in particular, have generated concerns as to the normality of the offspring. Although early studies on neonatal outcomes failed to reveal any differences between ICSI and in vitro fertilization babies, some recent reports claim a greater incidence of abnormalities in ART children compared with those conceived normally. Anxieties have been voiced also in regard to rare imprinting disorders, as well as cancer following ART. Here we assess the genetic profiles of infertile men treated by ICSI and the profiles of the pregnancies they generated, including obstetrical and perinatal outcomes and developmental milestones in children born from ART. These children were also subjected to genetic and epigenetic analysis as well as to pediatric and psychological examinations.