水母秘密基地

這篇新英格蘭醫學期刊（注：Feb 1, 2007，page 479-485）的報告指出，三位年紀分別為4、7、10歲的小男孩均出現男性女乳症（gynecomastia）的現象。但是當他們停用了他們原本使用的含有天然精油的身體乳液、髮膠、洗髮精或肥皂，症狀便消失了。

It's unclear how often this problem might crop up in other young children.

目前不清楚這個現象出現在年輕孩童身上的頻率為何。

These plant oils, sometimes called "essential oils," are added to many health-care products, usually for their scent. The oils are sometimes found
in other household products or sold in purer forms. Tea tree oil is sometimes used in shampoos for head lice.

這些產品中所含的植物油，通常被稱作「精油」，精油廣泛的被添加在護理產品上，有時候目的是為了增添它的香氣。另外精油也常常被添加在一般家庭產品，或者是以純精油的方式出售。而茶樹精油也會添加在洗髮精裡以去除頭蝨（驚！）

The suspected effect in this study is attributed to a chemical within the oils that the body processes as it does estrogen, the female hormone that
promotes breast growth.

這篇期刊的研究推測這些年輕男孩會出現男性女乳症的原因，可能在於這些精油進入人體後，會轉為一種接近人類雌激素的化學物質。而雌性激素就是讓乳房發育的女性荷爾蒙。

The findings were being reported Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine. The federally funded study came out of the University of Colorado
and the environmental health branch of the National Institutes of Health. The findings were first released last year at a science meeting.

這份研究結果出現在今年二月的新英格蘭醫學期刊，主持這項研究的是科羅拉多大學（我覺得這邊看起來有點亂，總之就是講人名，晚點看到期刊全文再補完）
這個調查結果的科學研討會上才第一次出現。

The three boys were brought to their doctors with overdeveloped breasts that looked like those of girls in early puberty. They were sore in one case. For
each boy, doctors could tie the problem only to their use over several months of the natural-oil products.

這些前去就醫男孩們的胸部外觀看起來像是少女青春期前期，也比一般同年齡男孩大，其中一個男孩還出現疼痛發炎的現象。醫生歸結出三位男孩這數個月來的共通點就是使用含有天然精油的產品。

The researchers suspected that the oils might be upsetting the boys' hormonal balance. So they did a series of laboratory tests to check how these oils
work within human cells. The oils appeared to mimic estrogen and block the male hormone androgen.

研究者推測應該是這些精油打亂了男孩們的荷爾蒙平衡，所以他們設計一個實驗，看這些精油對於人類細胞產生什麼樣的影響？結果發現，這些精油會偽裝成類似女性荷爾蒙的物質，進而抑制住男性荷爾蒙的分泌。

（注：每個人體內都有男性/女性荷爾蒙，只是女生的女性會多些，男生的男性會多些）

On product labels, the oils sometimes are listed by their scientific names: Lavandula angustifolia (lavender oil) and Melaleuca alternifolia (tea tree
oil). Such products do not require government approval to be sold unless they make specific health claims.

在市售產品的外標籤上我們可以看到這些精油的學名：Lavandula angustifolia （薰衣草精油）以及Melaleuca alternifolia（茶樹精油）。不過這些產品並不需
要經由政府機關檢驗合格，除非這些產品有危害健康的風險。

Marijuana and soy products also have been linked to gynecomastia.

過去研究發現，Marijuana（大麻）和黃豆製品（含大豆異黃酮）也同樣跟男性女乳症有關

Dr. Clifford Bloch, a hormone specialist in Greenwood Village, Colorado, who treated the three boys, recommended that parents "be cautious" with such
products, especially for prolonged use. "I would not give these products to my children," he said in an interview.

負責診治這些男孩們的布洛赫博士，同時也是內分泌的專家，他呼籲父母必須要謹慎的使用這些含精油的產品，尤其是長時間使用必須更加小心。「我應該不會給我的孩子使用這些產品」，布洛赫博士說。

Bloch said he also suspects the oil played a role in a handful of young girls he saw for a similar condition, including a 17-month-old whose parents were
washing her bottles with a lavender-scented soap.

博士也說，這樣現象不光是出現在年輕男孩身上，少數女孩也出現同樣的情況，其中一個案例是一個十七個月大的女嬰，他的父母使用含薰衣草精油的肥皂清洗她的奶瓶

Others sounded less worried. "It takes very little estrogen to cause gynecomastia in a young child," said Dr. Richard Auchus, a University of
Texas hormone expert who knew of the study findings. "If they're getting it for a brief period of time, that really shouldn't cause long-term problems."

另外一方的意見到沒有這麼憂心，「精油中含的微量雌激素會讓年輕孩子產生男性女乳症。」德州大學荷爾蒙專家Dr. Richard Auchus看過這篇研究後說，「如果這個病徵在短時間就會出現，那麼這就不會造成長期的影響。」

Also, the research did not pinpoint any specific estrogen-like compounds in the oils or look for them in a range of products. Chemist Steven Dentali, at
the industry group American Herbal Products Association, said that warning people to avoid such oils "is premature without the additional basic research
needed to bolster the case that the issue here is both real and significant."

另外，這份研究報告並沒有明確指出精油或是其添加精油的產品中，哪些成份的化學結構類似雌激素。美國草本學會中的化學家Dentali認為這份報告告誡民眾要遠離植物精油，但若沒有後續的輔助研究證實這個研究真切而有意義的，那麼便是言之過早。

Gynecomastia is very common in boys during the hormonal changes of puberty. But it also occurs as a rare condition in younger boys, men, and girls before
puberty.

男性女乳症（Gynecomastia）在男性青春期荷爾蒙改變的階段是一個常見的現象，但是極罕見出現在成年男性，或是未達青春期的男孩女孩的身上。

Bloch, the study doctor, said it's unknown if such oils could hurt women with estrogen-fed breast tumors.

布洛赫博士也說，目前的研究不清楚這些精油是否會讓使用雌性荷爾蒙補充療法的婦女產生乳癌。