Congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (CBAVD) accounts for 1%-2% of sterility in men. A high incidence of mutations, as well as the involvement of the 5T variant of the T tract length in intron 8 of the cystic fibrosis conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, have been previously described in males with CBAVD. Herein we report the screening for mutations and for the 5T variant of the CFTR gene in 17 patients with CBAVD and three others with non-CABVD obstructive azoospermia. In the CBAVD group, three patients (15%) were compound heterozygotes for mutations, and five patients (25%) had a mutation in one allele and the 5T variant in the other; the 5T variant was also present in two other patients, one of them being homozygous. The most frequent mutation... |