辅助生殖技术与出生缺陷

Assisted Reproductive Technology and Birth Defects

辅助生殖技术(ART)是否增加或引发出生缺陷目前尚无定论,但ART婴儿出生缺陷的原因可能是多因素的,与自然妊娠或许不同。目前研究主要关注于ART助孕过程如促排卵、胚胎培养液、培养时长等对子代的不利影响。ART与印迹疾病的风险近年来也受到很多关注。此外,引发不孕的疾病本身也可能导致出生缺陷。应当强调,大多数ART婴儿是健康的。未来应更好地探索ART出生缺陷的分子机制,改进现有ART治疗方法,降低出生缺陷的发生风险,提高出生人口的素质。

Whether assisted reproductive technology （ART） increase or cause birth defects has not been determined. However,the causality of the association of ART and birth defects is probably multifactorial,which may be different with natural conception. The major concern is still whether the ART procedures such as ovarian stimulation,embryo culture media and culture time have a possible negative impact on the ART offspring. Concerns of imprinting disorders related to the ART procedures have also been raised. Moreover,diseases which cause infertility have been shown to affect the risk of birth defects. It is important to emphasize that the vast majority of ART infants are healthy. Future research should be devoted to finding the mechanisms of the association between ART and birth defects. ART treatments could be improved in ways that may lead to decreased birth risks and improved population quality.