孕期服用止痛药可要谨慎！会导致后代不育

Taking common painkillers including paracetamol during pregnancy could make their grandchildren infertile, research suggests.

有研究表明，孕期服用包括扑热息痛在内的常见止痛药可能会使后代不育。

Previous studies have found that the drug ibuprofen could harm the fertility of girls.

早前曾有研究发现，布洛芬可能会损害女孩的生育能力。

Women are advised to avoid the medication during pregnancy, and told that if pain relief is needed, they should take paracetamol for as little time as possible.

女性被告知在孕期要避免服用这种药物，她们得到的建议是，如果需要缓解疼痛就应尽可能少地服用扑热息痛。

But the new study found that both drugs could harm future fertility of subsequent offspring - with an impact on boys as well as girls.

但新的研究发现，这两种有可能损害后代生育能力的药物不仅对女孩有影响，对男孩也有影响。

Estimates suggest around one in three will take such drugs during pregnancy.

据估计，大约三分之一的人在孕期会服用诸如此类的药物。

The study found that the medication made marks on the DNA, with permanent consequences.

研究发现，这种药物会在DNA上留下印记，带来永久性后果。

Ovaries exposed to paracetamol for one week had more than 40 per cent fewer egg-producing cells. After ibuprofen exposure, the number of cells was almost halved.

卵巢接触扑热息痛一周后，生殖细胞的数量就减少40%以上。接触布洛芬之后，生殖细胞数量减少将近一半。

And testicular tissue exposed to painkillers in a culture dish had around a quarter fewer sperm-producing cells after exposure to paracetamol or ibuprofen.

而就培养皿里接触了止痛药的睾丸组织而言，在接触扑热息痛或布洛芬之后，它的精子细胞减少约四分之一。

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh looked at the effects of paracetamol and ibuprofen on samples of human fetal testes and ovaries. They found similar effects using several different experimental approaches, including lab tests on human tissue samples and animal studies.

爱丁堡大学的科学家们观测了扑热息痛和布洛芬对人类胎儿睾丸和卵巢样本的影响。他们用几种不同的实验方法都发现了类似的效应，包括对人体组织样本的实验室测试和动物研究。

Human tissues exposed to either drug for one week in a dish had reduced numbers of cells that give rise to sperm and eggs, called germ cells, the study found.

人体组织在培养皿里接触了无论是扑热息痛还是布洛芬一周之后，可产生精子和卵子的细胞——统称生殖细胞——的数量都会减少。

The scientists found that exposure to paracetamol or ibuprofen triggers mechanisms in the cell that make changes in the structure of DNA, called epigenetic marks.

科学家们发现，接触扑热息痛或布洛芬会触发细胞中的DNA结构即表观遗传标记改变机制。

These marks can be inherited, helping to explain how the effects of painkillers on fertility may be passed on to future generations.

表观遗传标记是可以遗传的，这有助于解释止痛药对生育能力的影响是如何传递给后代的。

The effects were likely to be caused by the impact on molecules called prostaglandins, which have key functions in the ovaries and testes, researchers said.

研究人员说，这种效应可能是由前列腺素受到的影响引起的，前列腺素在卵巢和睾丸中有着重要作用。

The study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, was funded by the Medical Research Council, Wellcome and the British Society of Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes.

这项研究发表在《环境健康展望》上，它由医学研究委员会、惠康基金会和英国儿科内分泌与糖尿病协会资助。

Dr Rod Mitchell, who led the research at the University of Edinburgh’s MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, said: “We would encourage women to think carefully before taking painkillers in pregnancy and to follow existing guidelines – taking the lowest possible dose for the shortest time possible.”

在爱丁堡大学MRC生殖健康中心领导了这项研究的罗德?米切尔博士说：“我们鼓励女性在孕期服用止痛药要三思而行，并遵循现有的准则——尽可能短时间地服用尽可能低的剂量。”

Recent French research found that taking ibuprofen for just two days during pregenancy was enough to result in fertility problems in subsequent female children born. Even if women stop taking the painkiller, the damage is irreversible, scientists warned.

法国前不久的一项研究成果发现，孕期服用布洛芬仅两天就足以导致随后出生的女婴有生育问题。科学家们提醒说，即使孕妇停止服用止痛药，损害也是不可逆转的。