It's A Time Bomb

THE NEW YORK TIMES.
Article by Tamar Lewin

Ideas & Trends: Reproductive Gerontology; Ask Not for Whom the Clock Ticks!

MEN, take note: you, too, have a biological clock.

True, it does not tick toward the absolute deadline that ends women's childbearing years. As notables like Tony Randall, Yasir Arafat, George Plimpton, Anthony Quinn, Clint Eastwood, Strom Thurmond and so, so many more have demonstrated, men can father babies no matter how old they get.
But there is a growing body of evidence that the fruit of aging loins is burdened with increased risk of a wide variety of gene-influenced illnesses. A study released last week raised the intriguing -- if skeptically viewed -- possibility that some cases of schizophrenia fall into that category.

The study found that older fathers are more likely to have children with schizophrenia. Fathers over 50 have three times the risk of having a child who develops schizophrenia as fathers under 25, the study found. Earlier studies linked advanced paternal age to a variety of conditions, including the most common type of dwarfism, neural tube defects, nervous system cancer, prostate cancer, neurofibromatosis, Apert syndrome (a malformation of the skull, hands and feet) and Marfan syndrome, which involves defects of the eyes, bones, heart and blood vessels. The study does not address what it is about the father that could cause schizophrenia. But Dr. Dolores Malaspina, a researcher at Columbia University and the lead author of the schizophrenia study, said that scientists have been seeing signs of a male biological clock for some time. ''While scientists have known for years that older fathers are a major source of gene mutations,'' she said, ''the public doesn't seem to have absorbed it, which may have something to do with a culture that sees older fathers as triumphantly virile.''

As research continues, her team suggested, it may be that the father's sperm will turn out to play as big a part in children's genetic problems as the mother's eggs.
While women are born with all the eggs they will ever have, the cells that become sperm divide and reproduce throughout a man's life -- with each division introducing a slight risk of error in the genetic material the new sperm passes on to the children. For men in their 40's and 50's, who assumed they could defer parenthood to their later, quieter years, the possibility of a male biological clock is not a happy concept.

''This is a new idea to me, and it doesn't make my day,'' said Gregory Mosher, a New York director and producer. ''But science is so mind-boggling that there always are new discoveries that make you rethink all your assumptions. This is just another thing to talk about with whoever you're making the decision with.''

And some men reacted by pointing out that, if they do have such clocks, they tick quietly. ''I know that the problem women face with their biological clock is something I'll never experience or fully understand,'' said Richard Orloff, a playwright. ''For men, even if there's some higher risk of having a child with a problem, there's still the possibility of being a father.''
If, as the new study suggests, one-fourth of all schizophrenics have older fathers, it may seem puzzling that the correlation was not noticed long ago. But what scientists find depends on what they look for, as women angered by the lack of female-specific data on problems like heart disease have long pointed out.

''We've known since the 1960's that schizophrenia is associated with last-born kids and older parents,'' said Dr. Malaspina. ''But most people choose spouses about their age, and if you didn't look specifically at the father's age, you would think there was a powerful link between maternal age and schizophrenia. It's only when we separated it out that we saw that paternal age mattered, and maternal age didn't.''
There is a particular irony in the finding that the devastating mental illness once thought to be caused by a type of bad mother -- the ''schizophrenogenic'' mother, a staple of 60's psychiatry -- may have something to do with the father.

But the impulse to assess reproductive health by looking solely at the mother is a widespread one. In industry, efforts to keep women out of certain workplaces with dangerous substances have been turned back only with findings that the same substances can harm sperm -- so the better approach is to create an environment that will be safe for men and women alike.
Gloria Steinem, a founder of Ms. magazine, said it has been difficult to focus public attention on the health risks of aging fathers. As long ago as 1976, Ms. ran an article called ''The Older the Sperm . . . .''
''I guess it takes a long time to sink in,'' Ms. Steinem said, ''since our society seems to look to a star in the East, for a baby born to a mother, and no father.''
And that, said Katha Pollitt, a feminist author, reflects the whole history of everything having to do with reproduction,
''The woman is always blamed for everything,'' she said.
While the club of biological clock watchers is not a happy one, some women say there is a certain satisfaction in welcoming male members.
''It's not a totally free ride for men,'' Ms. Pollitt said, ''and that seems fair, that both men and women have lots to think about.''


Isn't that an interesting article? I have a few others to add to that growing list, Rod Stewart, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Donald Trump and Robin Williams.,just to name a few.




That article says it all! What are men thinking? Is it fair to bring kids into the world, knowing they might have serious medical problems later? Is it fair to bring kids into the world knowing you're about to exit?


I sure can identify with that article! My mom met my dad when she was 21 and he was 56., and they proceeded to have 11 kids. Yes, he was a Catholic, so I guess when the church said, 'Go out and multiply', he took them seriously! (okay, the bible!)




Also, the Catholic church did not allow contraception, and yes, the church was in the bedroom in those days. Women were also told that as good wives, they were not to deny their husbands needs.


My dad died when I was 11 years old,,,a middle child! My 2 older brothers were 15 and 16 at the time. My oldest brother didn't want to quit school, he knew that an education would be his ticket out of poverty! The 2nd eldest did quit school and worked at a variety of jobs, grocery delivery boy, drugstore delivery, to help out at home.


We were destitute, no money, no insurance, no savings, but most of all, the stability of a home with a mother and father were now gone. My mother had little education and no training.


I had 7 brothers who had no 'male role model', nobody to tell them right from wrong,,to encourage, teach, to help mold their characters., to show them how a man acted as a husband, a father, a mentor. Nobody to toss a ball with,,nobody to cheer when they did well, nobody to pat them on their back, and say., "You did good, son!"


My 3 sisters and I had no daddy! Girls as well as boys need their dad. A father is a role-model for a girl,,,,,,she first falls in love with daddy before finding and choosing a husband. She will marry someone who was like her dad. Her dad is the one who shows her how she is to be treated and loved by men. If a father treats his daughter well, loves and respects her, that is what she will expect from the men she meets.


We never got to know our dad well; growing up, he was always sick, after all he was an old man!


I do have a few good memories of him; he was a great story teller,,,a good cook, never beat us,,, took great pride in our accomplishments.....but just when we needed him,,,,,,he was gone! We all regret that we had no dad to walk us up the aisle, or see his grandchildren, or give us the advice and love we needed as we grew up.


And that's all we have, a few memories and 2 photograph's.


My younger siblings don't have the few memories I have, after all I was 11, and they were so much younger., so they have no memory of a dad!


And sure enough, I have a brother who is younger than me, who is schizophrenic,,,he was diagnosed at the age of 24, and he is now 54, still battling his demons,,,and a few more in my family who haven't been diagnosed! (Depression, anxiety disorders, delusional), Lord Jumping Jesus! I won't say anymore! Let's not go there!


One point I do want to make is, it seems to me, the girls in my family have faired better than the boys! The boys had no 'male mentor', the girls did!


Add to that,,,sisters who married young,,,,one sister was 13, another sister left home at 15, and one other at 16,,,no, that wasn't stupid on their part,,,,it's called 'survival'...getting out of a bad situation. There's nothing pretty about poverty. Those who say, 'We were poor, but we were happy',,,,are in denial! But of course, there are varying degrees of poor!



Being promiscuous is another factor in not having a dad. The one sister who married at 13, did so because she was pregnant, couldn't even find a priest to marry her. She was married by the Salvation Army, and my mother had to give her permission! A child having children!


If we had a father around, would that have made a difference? I'm absolutely positive it would have!


My mother, a very simple woman, with a 3rd grade education and no work experience was overwhelmed to say the least. A widow at 43 with a brood of 11 kids to take care of and no clue as to how she would do it! She couldn't cook,,,(I wrote about that in my 1st post), she couldn't budget, and being an orphan herself, she didn't know how to raise a family, how to discipline them or nurture them. My dad was the one who told her what to do and how to do it!


Back then, there was no welfare and no family allowance benefits...you did what you could with what you had!
And my mother did what she could with the tools she had!


Once, when I spoke to my older brother John about our dad, I was surprised and shocked that he was so bitter.


He told me having kids at that age was a very selfish, egotistical act, and he was angry at my dad. He wanted an education, he didn't want to quit school, he loved school, and the weight and responsibility of his mother and siblings were too much for a boy of 16 to bear., and I saw my big brother cry at the injustice of it all!


We managed,,,we survived,,,,but it would have been much easier with a dad around to share in our lives, to be there for us!


And now,,,,just to make it easier for older men to make babies,,,,,,we have Viagra! You wonder why older men are taking younger wives? It's an ego thing,,,they want to leave their mark, their progeny, children to carry their name.


I heard it said, that one day in the future, in a few thousand years, women will no longer need men, so men will become extinct! I'm sorry I won't be here!

Posted by Matty at 6:56:00 PM

Labels: Family.


7 comments:
Kacey said...
I have been worried by the number of American couples who have put off having children until they are ready for their alarm clocks to go off. When they decide to "go forth and multiply" they are too old and tired to keep up with the brats they have created. I know we have all our eggs at birth, but I also know that men's sperm can be contaminated by pot, alcohol and other medications. It would be better if the older dudes would shoot blanks. It's bad enough for them to produce nasty little boogers, but now we find that these kids have two or more personalities.
I find your post very well thought out and you did a great job of tying all the pieces together. Nice job, Matty.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Matty said...
Kacey,
I met so many parents with Down Syndrome Children and a good majority of them were older. The sad thing is they were told of the chances when they decided to give birth. It's just not fair to bring these kids into the world knowing that you're about to leave. Who's going take care of these kids and make sure they have a quality life?

Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Anonymous said...
Your younger brother has schizophrenia because of your father's age and it is very fortunate for you and your siblings that he is the only one. An older man's damaged sperm are responsible for most of the "mysterious genetic diseases" and researchers have known of the connection for almost 50 years. It would be best for the parents to complete their biological family by 35-40 at the oldest. Men should freeze semen in their 20s if they are going to put off fathering, in my opinion.
These epidemiologists are trying to warn people, but no one is listening. http://press.psprings.co.uk/jech/october/851_ch45179.pdf

James F. Crow Emeritus Genetics professor from the U. of Wisconsin, not studying schizophrenia said,
"I conclude that for a number of diseases the mutation rate increases with age and at a rate much faster than linear. This suggests that the greatest mutational health hazard in the human population at present is fertile old males." This psychiatrist knows about the tragedy of schizophrenia and is concerned about warning the public at some point.:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=17142012

Saturday, January 27, 2007
Matty said...
anonymous,
Thank you for posting! I never said I only had one brother with schizophrenia,,,,,at one point in my life I had no choice but to get him diagnosed,,,,and that's how we know. I have 2 other brothers who show signs of paranoia schizophreni (who were never diagnosed) but are clearly 'off the wall',,,,,,and another brother who is so self-medicated, it's hard to tell, (he's an alcoholic) and another brother who was 27 when he died,(cause unknown) but he definitely had mental problems.
Those 5 kids were younger than me, I was fortunate, I had bouts of depression which I fought constantly and still do.
It's just plain ignorance and the public is not educated enough.
I will look at those articles you cited.

Saturday, January 27, 2007
Anonymous said...
Matty just wanted you to have a link to my paper.

http://ebdblog.com/paternalage/

Leslie

Friday, February 23, 2007
Matty said...
Anonymous,
Thank you for the info. I can see I have a lot of reading to do..so far its very interesting.
Thanks.

Friday, February 23, 2007
Dr. Leonid Gavrilov, Ph.D. said...
Thank you for your interesting post!
I thought perhaps you may also find this related scientific study interesting to you:
Human Longevity and Parental Age at Conception
http://longevity-science.org/Parental_Age_2000.pdf

Saturday, April 21, 2007
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