全球首個男性避孕藥或將推出

Roughly half of all pregnancies worldwide aren’t planned. We can attribute this, at least partially, to the fact that half the species (ahem, women) bears most of the birth control burden. If men had access to a long-lasting contraception, researchers have projected, the rate of unplanned pregnancies would tumble.
全球有近半數的懷孕都是意外懷孕，我們可以認爲造成這種情況的原因，或者至少部分原因是一半的人類（咳咳，女性）需要承擔大部分的避孕責任。研究人員預計，如果能讓男人長效避孕，意外懷孕的概率會驟降。
Now, Indian scientists claim they are getting closer to giving men such an option. Officials at the Indian Council of Medical Research say they’ve successfully completed clinical testing of the world’s first injectable male contraceptive, the Hindustan Times reported.
現在印度科學家聲稱已經快要實現給男人選擇權的目標了。據《印度斯坦時報》報道，印度醫學研究委員會的工作人員說他們已成功完成了世界首個可注射的男性避孕藥的臨牀測試。
“The product is ready, with only regulatory approvals pending with [India’s drug regulator],” Radhey Shyam Sharma, a New Delhi reproductive biologist who leads the research, told the newspaper. “The product can safely be called the world’s first male contraceptive.”
此項研究負責人新德里生殖生物學家Radhey Shyam Sharma對該報紙說：“一切就緒，就等‘印度藥品監管機構’的監管批准了。我們大可稱它爲全球首個男性避孕藥。”
If that were true, it would mean India has found one of the holy grails of reproductive medicine — overcoming the biological and regulatory challenges that have thwarted past attempts to bring a new male birth control to market. (For more on those, and other promising male birth control options, see here.)
如果這都是真的，那就意味着印度已經發現了生殖醫學一直在尋找的東西，那就是克服生物和監管方面的困難，就因爲這些困難，所以一直不能將新的男性節育方法推向市場。（想要了解更多信息和其他可能的男性避孕方法，請看這裏。）
The product is a nonsurgical vasectomy called RISUG, which stands for “reversible inhibition of sperm under guidance,” and it’s effectively an injection behind men’s penises. If that sounds like something no man would ever agree to, let me explain.
這個被稱爲RISUG的產品是非手術輸精管結紮術，RISUG代表的是“在引導下對精子進行可逆抑制”，實際上是在男人陰莖後注射。如果這聽起來男人不會接受的話，那我解釋一下。
With RISUG, doctors inject a polymer gel into the vas deferens, the tube that transports mature sperm to the urethra during ejaculation, under local anesthesia. The procedure is intended to block sperm, and therefore, the chances that a man impregnates a woman, with effects that can last for 13 years, Sharma told the Hindustan Times.
醫生使用RISUG就是局部麻醉後將聚合物凝膠注射進輸精管，也就是射精時將成熟的精子運送到尿道的部位。Sharma對《印度斯坦時報》說，這樣做的目的是要阻擋精子，因此男人就不可能讓女人懷孕了，有效期長達13年。
In some ways, it’s similar to a vasectomy, a surgery that involves cutting or tying the vas deferens to stop sperm from entering the urethra and getting passed along to a female partner. But reversing a vasectomy requires more surgery, and the RISUG treatment can reportedly be reversed simply with another shot that breaks down the gel. It could cost as little as $10 in developing countries.
在某些方面這有點類似輸精管結紮術，那是一種手術，通過切斷或扎住輸精管以阻止精子進入尿道從而進入女性性-伴侶的體內。但想要達到逆向作用還需要進行手術，而據報道RISUG療法的逆向方法很簡單，只需要再注射能溶解凝膠的物質就可以。發展中國家的注射費用僅爲10美元。