Russian scientists Tatarinov and Masyukevich began to study molecular components of the human reproductive system in 1970.
The protein glycodelin contained in the male sperm was one of the landmark discoveries of that time.
In 2004, Professor Tatarinov's student and director of the Ivanovo research institute of maternity and childcare, Lyubov Posiseyeva, who founded the new trend in medicine for the studies of the male factor, was nominated for the national medical prize "Prizvanie".
The combination of research activity and medical practice led the scientist to a new sensational discovery. She found out that the majority of her female patients who either could not get pregnant or had miscarriages, had a common problem - their men had a low level of glycodelin in their sperm.
"It turned out that if there is a sufficient amount of this protein, it helped form a healthy fetal egg, protect the future baby from negative internal and external effects, and did not let the fetus out ahead of time," she says.
The level of the male factor can be low due to various reasons - stresses, environment, or as a complication after an illness. It can be easily raised by a course of individual treatment.
By the 1990s, the Ivanovo research institute of maternity and childcare developed such technologies for assessing the male factor that the amount of the protein was calculated within a short period of time on the basis of a test system, similar to the famous pregnancy test. However, the crisis in the country reduced interest in demographic problems. Now the testing system is being restored.
To expose the protein, blood from a rabbit's ear is used as antiserum. This substance is very expensive abroad - 0.2 ml cost 250 euros. In the Ivanovo laboratory, fridges are full of these magic antiserums.
Ivanovo experts hope that the introduction of the testing system will help people be more careful about family planning, and consequently, avoid family tragedies and reduce child mortality.
