Mon, Feb 24, 2020 page9

• Daily weight training coupled with sauna could lead to male infertility 每天重訓再進烤箱　猛男罹罕見「無精症」

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  An Australian couple still childless despite being married for many years initially thought the woman was infertile, and had even had artificial insemination, but to no avail. They came to Taiwan to see a doctor here, but were shocked by the test results, which showed that the husband’s sperm count was zero. Through questioning, the doctor discovered that the husband liked to work out and was trying to build up his muscles. Every day he would do two hours’ weight training and then spend half an hour in the sauna, and he had been training hard for over 1.5 year, but this had resulted in his azoospermia. Fortunately, he made some changes and four months later had another test, which showed that there were six million sperm in 1.8cc of semen, and his wife became pregnant. The couple are now the proud parents of twins.

  According to Yang Wen-jui, director of Taiwan IVF Group, the normal sperm count in healthy males is between 40 million and 60 million sperm per cc of semen. In 1990, however, the WHO lowered the male sperm count standard from 60 million sperm per cc of semen to 20 million, and in 2010 adjusted it downward again, to 15 million. Clearly, the problem of male infertility is to be taken seriously.

  Yang says that when the semen has no sperm at all it is known as azoospermia, and the main reason is an imbalance in the hormones secreted by the hypothalamus and the pituitary glands in the brain, the inability of the testicles to produce sperm or an obstruction of the vas deferens. The high risk group for male infertility includes chefs, people who spend a lot of time in front of the computer, engineers, avid cyclists, people who exercise excessively, people who often wear jeans and heavy users of hot springs and saunas.

  

  A sauna, for illustrative purposes. 圖為三溫暖烤箱情境示意照。

  Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Liberty Times
  照片：自由時報記者廖雪茹

  She adds that doing a reasonable level of exercise is a good thing, but excessive exercise places a burden on the body, lowering the immune system —which can have an effect on the quality of sperm — and it is especially important to avoid doing excessive cycling or weight training. In addition, the higher the temperature of the environment in which one does these activities, the more likely it is to have an impact on sperm production, and this can lead to a reduced sperm count or infertility. One should therefore avoid staying in a high temperature environment for an extended period of time.

  If a couple wants to have a child, Yang recommends that the male avoid junk food and could take up a Mediterranean diet supplemented with vitamins C and E and zinc. Women produce a finite number of eggs over the course of their life, but they can improve the quality of the eggs they produce by making changes to their lifestyles and taking supplements such as vitamins C, D, E, B complex, folic acid and Coenzyme Q10. Yang recommends that couples aged over 35 who have tried unsuccessfully for a child naturally for half a year seek medical help.

  (Translated by Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)

  一對澳洲夫妻結婚多年不孕，原以為太太不孕，甚至做人工受孕仍無法擁有孩子。跨國來台求醫，但檢查結果令人震驚，先生的精蟲數量竟是零。醫師詢問才知先生是健身愛好者，嚮往當肌肉猛男，每天重訓兩小時再進烤箱一小時，狂練逾一年半，卻造成無精症。所幸經四個月調理後，先生再次檢驗，一．八c.c.精液中有六百萬隻精蟲，並順利讓太太受孕成功，喜獲一對雙胞胎。

  艾微芙國際生殖醫學中心主任楊文瑞醫師表示，正常男性每c.c.精液的精蟲數應達四千萬到六千萬隻，但世衛WHO在一九九○年將男性精蟲數標準值從每c.c.精液六千萬隻精蟲下修至兩千萬隻，二○一○年又再下修為一千五百萬隻，顯見現今男性不孕問題不容小覷。

  楊文瑞指出，當精液內不含任何精蟲時稱為「無精症」，主因包括下視丘或腦下垂體分泌之荷爾蒙失調、睪丸無法製造精蟲、精液輸送管道阻塞等。而男性不孕的高危險群，包括廚師、電腦族、工程師、自行車熱愛者、運動過度者、愛穿牛仔褲，以及溫泉、烤箱重度使用者等。

  楊文瑞指出，適當運動很好，但運動過量對身體也是一種耗損，免疫力下降反影響精蟲品質，尤須避免過度騎自行車或重訓；此外，環境溫度越高越易影響精蟲產量，造成精蟲減少而不孕，所以要避免長期處於高溫環境。

  夫妻想有愛的結晶，楊文瑞建議，男性應避免垃圾食物，可採地中海型健康飲食、多補充維他命C、E、鋅，而女性一生卵子數是固定的，但可調整生活作息與多補充維生素C、D、E、B群、葉酸、Q10等來改變卵子品質。三十五歲以上夫妻，若嘗試半年無法自然受孕，建議尋求醫療幫助。

  （自由時報）
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