Older fathers linked to genetic disease due to testicular tumours

Older fathers risk having a child with serious health problems thanks to a rare form of testicular tumour which may cause mutations in the DNA, according to a new study. Researchers found that older men were more likely to have the benign tumours, known as spermocytic seminomas, which although harmless on their own, potentially passed on genetic mutations to their sperm, thereby increasing the chances of their offspring have health problems including autism or schizophrenia. Professor Andrew Wilkie, from Oxford University, who led the study published in the journal Nature Genetics, said clumps of tumour-producing cells form in the testicular tissue which then produced the "germ cells". “We think most men develop these tiny clumps of mutant cells in their testicles as they age,” he said. “They are rather like moles in the... [read full story]                    

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