人工受精的男婴体内睾酮水平偏低

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人工受精的男婴体内睾酮水平偏低

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jul 31 - Plasma testosterone levels in infant boys conceived by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are significantly lower than in their naturally conceived counterparts, according to Danish researchers.

In the July issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Dr. Anders Juul and colleagues at Copenhagen University Hospital note that there has been concern for the health of children conceived by assisted reproduction technologies.

The researchers conducted a prospective cohort study to investigate whether impaired testicular function might be inherited by boys conceived by ICSI, the main method used to overcome male infertility.

The study involved 125 boys conceived by ICSI, 120 conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF), and 933 naturally conceived boys. Anthropometric measurements were taken at birth and at 3 months, and blood samples were also taken from more than half of the participants at 3 months.

At this point, the team found that serum testosterone levels were significantly reduced in boys conceived by ICSI (2.4 nmol/L) compared with naturally conceived boys (3.3 nmol/L). The ratio of luteinizing hormone-to-testosterone was significantly increased.

Boys conceived by IVF because of female infertility had normal values for both testosterone and for the LH-to-testosterone ratio.

Dr. Juul and colleagues say the findings point to a subtle, possibly inherited, impairment of Leydig cell function in ICSI-conceived boys.

\"The clinical relevance of our findings remains to be clarified,\" the investigators conclude. However, they point out that \"our findings should raise concern because ICSI is increasingly used to overcome male infertility.\"

J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2007;92:2598-2603.
纽约(路透社健康专栏) 辅助生殖技术受孕的婴儿健康问题一直以来都是人们关注的问题，最近丹麦研究人员发现，通过精子卵母细胞浆内注射(ICSI)产下的男婴与自然受孕的对照组相比，其体内血浆睾酮水平明显下降。该研究结果发表在《Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism》杂志7月刊.

　　哥本哈根大学医院的Anders Juul博士和其同事为了明确ICSI(克服男性不育的主要方法)受孕的男婴是否会遗传睾丸功能损害，进行了一项前瞻性队列研究。该研究纳入了125名ICSI男婴，120名体外受精(IVF)男婴和933名自然受孕的男婴。出生时和3个月时分别对这些婴儿进行人体测量，而且在3个月时对半数以上婴儿采集血样。

　　研究小组发现，ICSI孕育出来的男婴(2.4 nmol/L)与自然受孕的男婴(3.3 nmol/L)相比，其血睾酮水平显著下降，黄体生成素/睾酮的比值显著增高。对于因女性不孕而采取IVF的男婴来说，血睾酮水平和黄体生成素/睾酮比值均正常。

　　Juul博士等指出，这个研究结果表明，ICSI受孕的男婴可能遗传轻度的睾丸间质细胞受损。“我们的研究结果的临床意义有待进一步阐明，但是，目前ICSI被越来越多地应用到克服男性不育，因此，我们的研究结果应该会引起广泛关注。”