VOA慢速英语2009年-Health Report - Study Finds Treatment

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Last week, researchers in the United States reported curing nine adults with sickle¹ cell disease. Ten patients in all were treated in a study with donated bone marrow². The healthy marrow causes new blood cells to form.

Sickle cell disease, also called sickle cell anemia³, is a genetic⁴ condition that deforms⁵ red blood cells. They become sticky and harden into the shape of the letter C, like a sickle, a hand tool with a curved blade.

A nurse helps a sickle cell patient at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri

The deformed⁶ cells block blood vessels⁷ and cut off the flow of oxygen to tissue in the body. People with sickle cell disease can suffer severe pain, bacterial⁸ infections and the death of tissue.

In other studies, bone marrow transplants cured severe sickle cell disease in almost two hundred children. Doctors first used chemicals to destroy the children's own marrow, then replaced it with healthy marrow.

However, doctors have considered this treatment too risky⁹ for adults with the disease. Their major organs are already too damaged to have all their bone marrow destroyed.

So for the ten patients in the study, doctors used a low amount of radiation to destroy only some of their marrow. Then the patients received healthy marrow. There was enough space in the bone for the healthy marrow to start producing new red blood cells.

The researchers say all ten patients remain alive two and a half years after the treatment, and the disease has disappeared in nine of them.

Marrow is a soft, spongy tissue inside bones. Doctors can collect it with a needle. But people who donate marrow must first have tests to make sure they are a good match for the patient.

The New England Journal of Medicine published the study. John Tisdale at the National Institutes of Health was the lead investigator¹⁰. He says other uses for the treatment are also likely to be found.

Black people in Africa are the huge majority of those with sickle cell disease. About two hundred thousand cases are found in African children every year. About eighty thousand people have it in the United States.

A study published in September in the Lancet said antibacterial vaccines¹¹ could save the lives of children with sickle cell in Africa. The study pointed¹² out that many children die before they are even identified as having the disease. They die from bacterial infections for which there are new vaccines. But these vaccines are costly¹³ and available mainly in wealthy countries.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver¹⁴. For more health news, go to voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 sickle   

n.镰刀

参考例句：

• The gardener was swishing off the tops of weeds with a sickle.园丁正在用镰刀嗖嗖地割掉杂草的顶端。
• There is a picture of the sickle on the flag. 旗帜上有镰刀的图案。

2 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

3 anemia   

n.贫血，贫血症

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。
• I was put on iron tablets for my anemia.我曾因贫血吃补铁药片。

4 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

5 deforms   

使变形，使残废，丑化( deform的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Bad rheumatoid arthritis deforms limbs. 严重的类风湿性关节炎会造成四肢变形。
• The specimen deforms under a tensile stress applied parallel to the fibres. 试样在平行于纤维的张应力作用下发生变形。

6 deformed   

adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的

参考例句：

• He was born with a deformed right leg.他出生时右腿畸形。
• His body was deformed by leprosy.他的身体因为麻风病变形了。

7 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

9 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

10 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

11 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

12 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

13 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

14 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。