每日性愛可改善精子質量 有助好孕
Having sex every day improves the quality of men's sperm and is recommended for couples trying to conceive, according to new research.
Until now doctors have debated whether or not men should refrain from sex for a few days before attempting to conceive with their partner to improve the chance of pregnancy.
But a new study by Dr David Greening of Sydney IVF, an Australian center for infertility and in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment, suggests abstinence is not the right approach.
He studied 118 men with above-average sperm DNA damage and found the quality of their sperm increased significantly after they were told to ejaculate daily for seven days.
On average, their DNA fragmentation index -- a measure of sperm damage -- fell to 26 percent from 34 percent, Greening told the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
Frequent sex does decrease semen volume but for most men this is not a problem.
"It seems safe to conclude that couples with relatively normal semen parameters should have sex daily for up to a week before the ovulation date," he said in a statement.
"In the context of assisted reproduction, this simple treatment may assist in improving sperm quality and ultimately achieving a pregnancy."
Greening said it was likely frequent ejaculation improved the quality of sperm by reducing the length of time they were exposed to potentially damaging molecules called reactive oxygen species in the testicular ducts.
最新研究顯示，每天一次性生活可以改善男性精子質量，研究人員建議打算生育的夫婦可以試試。
直到如今，醫生們還在爭論這個話題：男性和伴侶打算懷孕之前是否需要禁慾幾天以提高懷孕機率。
“悉尼體外受精”研究中心的大衛•格里寧博士開展了此項新研究，結果顯示禁慾做法欠妥。該中心是澳大利亞一家研究不孕不育與體外受精療法的機構。
格里寧對118位男性進行了研究，這些男性的精子DNA受損程度高於平均水平。研究結果發現，在要求被調查者連續七天射精之後，他們的精子質量顯著改善。
格里寧於本週二在阿姆斯特丹舉行的“歐洲人類生殖及胚胎學會”會議上表示，平均來看，被調查者的“DNA碎片指數”（衡量精子受損程度的指標）從34%降至26%。
頻繁性事的確會降低精子數量，但對大多數男性而言這不會構成問題。
格里寧在聲明中稱：“有把握這樣說，精液參數相對正常的夫婦應該在排卵日前一週時間內每天過性生活。”
“在人工助孕時，這種簡單的方法可能有助於改善精子質量，並最終有助懷孕。”
格里寧表示，頻繁性事可以通過減短精子接觸輸精管中活性氧的時間來改善精子質量。這種被稱爲活性氧的分子有可能損害精子。
Vocabulary:
conceive：to become pregnant with（懷孕）
in vitro fertilisation (IVF)：In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process by which egg cells are fertilized by sperm outside the womb, in vitro.（體外受精）
