The X-Factor in Infertility and Neurological Health

A genetic anomaly—the fragile X pre-mutation—puts millions of people at risk for infertility and a neurodegenerative disorder they have probably never heard of

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND

March/April 2016.   Fragile X syndrome is well established as the leading genetic cause of autism. In the late 1990s, however, researchers began to notice some odd patterns of behavior and health affecting the mothers and grandfathers of kids with this condition. In “The Carriers,” Columbia University psychiatrist Anne Skomorowsky unwinds the mystery of how variants of the fragile X gene can cause a stunning array of symptoms, including infertility in women.