Washington, May 18 (IANS) Variation in a gene involved in regulating cholesterol has been linked to infertility in women, a study shows.

According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, variation in a gene involved in regulating cholesterol in the bloodstream, which affects progesterone production in women, is linked to infertility in some women.

The researchers have developed a simple blood test to measure the variation in the gene but emphasized that there was no approved therapy yet to address the problem of infertility, Xinhua reported.

"Infertility is fairly common and a lot of the reasons for it are still unknown. Right now, the benefit of this research is in knowing that there might be a genetic reason for why some women have difficulty getting pregnant.

"In the future, we hope this knowledge can be translated into a cure for this type of infertility," said Annabelle Rodriguez, an associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.