Children of older fathers' more likely to die early

A new study has shown that becoming a father after the age of 45 increases the likelihood that the resulting child will die before reaching adulthood. The researchers, based at the University of Aarhus in Denmark, who published their findings in the European Journal of Epidemiology, say that the reason for this is the decline in the quality of sperm as men age.
The research shows that children born from older fathers are more likely to suffer from a number of birth defects and conditions such as autism, schizophrenia or epilepsy. The majority of deaths were found to be caused by congenital defects that increased the risk of infant mortality, such as heart problems.
Children born to men aged 45 and above were found to be up to 88 per cent more likely to die before adulthood than those born to men aged between 25 and 29, the researchers found. The researchers looked at 100,000 children born between 1980 and 1996 using data taken from the Danish Fertility Database, and found that 831 of these had died before reaching the age of 13 - 601 of these died in their first year. Similar results were found for men who fathered children while still in their teens, but could perhaps be explained by their mothers also being young and often therefore disadvantaged, say the researchers.
Jin Liang Zhu, from the Danish Epidemiology Science Centre, and lead researcher in the study, said that 'the risks of older fatherhood can be very profound, and it is not something that people are always aware of'. People tend to be far more aware of the risks associated with older mothers, such as the increased prevalence of Down Syndrome, although it has also previously been shown that this may be affected by the father's age as well.
Speaking to the Melbourne Herald Sun, Professor Les Sheffield, a clinical geneticist from Melbourne's Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, explained that genetic errors in sperm increase by half a per cent when a man reaches 40, by 2 per cent when he is 50, by 5 per cent when he is 60 and by 20 per cent by the time he is 80. He added that on the basis of this, 'men around 40 ought to be thinking about the increased risk to their children, the same as women do'.

Mother freezes her own eggs to give her daughter the chance of having a baby

A mother whose young daughter will never be able to conceive naturally has frozen her own eggs to give the girl a chance of starting a family when she grows up.

The girl, aged ten, was born with a rare genetic condition which means she is infertile. Her mother had several eggs frozen in 2005 which could be used by her daughter for IVF treatment. Under the procedure, which is legal and has been approved by Government ethics committees, the girl could use her mother's eggs to give birth to her own half-sister or half-brother. But legislation limiting the amount of time eggs can be frozen means Mollie - not her real name - will have to decide before her 18th birthday whether to use the eggs.

They were harvested from her mother in 2005 when Mollie was seven. They can be stored for a maximum of ten years, so she will be only 17 when the time limit expires. If she does not use them by the end of 2015 then, by law, all the eggs would have to be destroyed. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority does allow for the ten-year limit to be extended, but only if the eggs are intended for the donor's own treatment.

Now Mollie's mother is campaigning for a reform in the law which would give her daughter more time to make the life-changing decision. The mother, from Hazel Grove, Stockport, said: 'We only want to give Mollie the same chances as everyone else to have a child of her own. 'I don't want to put my daughter under pressure and I don't think she should be having to make that choice at that age.

'We feel real sadness that for no particularly justifiable reason our daughter is going to be put in an impossible situation.'

Mollie has Turner's syndrome, a chromosome abnormality which affects around one in 2,500 girls born every year. The condition causes growth problems, heart defects and physical abnormalities including infertility, a higher risk of diabetes, and ear and urinary infections. The eggs, which are stored in liquid nitrogen at minus 196 degrees Celcius, do not deteriorate and can be stored indefinitely because they are in a state of suspended animation at the temperature-at which all cellular activity ceases.

Mollie's mother said: 'She already knows that she is different. We have tried to keep her as informed as we can. 'We have talked to her about how when she has children it might be different. We just want our daughter to have the same chances as our son.

'People might think there is something strange about it but really it is no different from people who donate to their sisters.

'It is to ensure the closest possible genetic match. It has been considered by ethics committees and they have no objection to it.'

Embryology rules state that only women under the age of 36 can freeze eggs because after that the risk of birth defects increases. At least half a dozen British mothers have frozen their eggs to allow their infertile daughters to conceive at a later date.

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Sreesanth in Dubai

Why Do Some Men Wear Ear-rings?

I have often wondered how this trend got started, I now have the answer.

A man is at work one day when he notices that his co-worker is wearing an earring. This man knows his co-worker to be a normally conservative fellow, and is curious about his sudden change in "fashion sense."

The man walks up to him and says, "I didn't know you were into earrings."

"Don't make such a big deal, it's only an earring, "he replies sheepishly.

His friend falls silent for a few minutes, but then his curiosity prods him to say, "So, how long have you been wearing one?"

"Ever since my wife found it in my car."

Popeye's Momma

True Story