VOA慢速英语2009年-Health Report - Study Links Aspirin to Col

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

People since ancient times have used aspirin¹-like medicines to fight pain and reduce high body temperature.
　
Boxes of aspirin at a drugstore in Chicago

Modern research has found other uses for aspirin. The drug acts as a blood thinner. It can help blood flow past a blockage² in an artery³. Blockages⁴ can cause heart attacks or strokes. As a result, patients at risk of blockages might be advised by their doctors to take a low-strength aspirin every day.

And research continues. A new study has shown that aspirin can improve survival in colon⁵ cancer patients.

It involved about one thousand three hundred patients with colorectal cancer. The cancer had not spread to other parts of the body yet. The study compared patients who took three hundred twenty-five milligrams of aspirin at least two times a week with those who did not use aspirin.

The study found that the aspirin users had an almost thirty percent lower risk of dying from their cancer. That was during an average of eleven years after the cancer was discovered.

Andrew Chan of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital led the study. Doctor Chan says the effects appeared especially strong among patients with tumors expressing an enzyme⁶ called COX-2. Two-thirds of colorectal cancers produce that chemical. Doctor Chan thinks the aspirin works by blocking it.

The study appeared last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. It was an observational study. In a controlled study, some patients would have taken aspirin. Others would have received a placebo⁷ -- sugar pills -- for comparison.

Last year, Doctor Chan reported that a long-term study of almost fifty thousand men showed that aspirin can help prevent colon cancer. But the effects required at least six years of regular use. And the greatest risk reductions were in those who took more than fourteen aspirins per week.

But the researchers warned that the dangers from such large amounts of aspirin should be carefully considered.

Aspirin is a kind of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID. The earlier study found comparable reductions from the use of other NSAIDs, but not from the use of acetaminophen.

All of these drugs have their uses but they also have risks. Aspirin can cause bleeding in the stomach, the intestines⁸ and the brain. People who might want to consider taking aspirin as a preventative measure should first talk to a doctor.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver⁹ and available at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 aspirin   

n.阿司匹林

参考例句：

• The aspirin seems to quiet the headache.阿司匹林似乎使头痛减轻了。
• She went into a chemist's and bought some aspirin.她进了一家药店，买了些阿司匹林。

2 blockage   

n.障碍物；封锁

参考例句：

• The logical treatment is to remove this blockage.合理的治疗方法就是清除堵塞物。
• If the blockage worked,they could retreat with dignity.如果封锁发生作用，他们可以体面地撤退。

3 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。

4 blockages   

n.堵塞物( blockage的名词复数 )；堵塞，阻塞

参考例句：

• The storms could increase the risks posed by river blockages. 暴风雨会增加因河道堵塞所造成的危险。 来自互联网
• An angiogram shows the location and severity of blockages in blood vessels. 冠状动脉造影能够显示血管内的阻塞位置以及阻塞的严重程度。 来自互联网

5 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

6 enzyme   

n.酵素，酶

参考例句：

• Above a certain temperature,the enzyme molecule will become unfolded.超过一定温度，酶分子将会展开。
• An enzyme that dissolves the fibrin of blood clots.能溶解血凝块中的纤维的酶。

7 placebo   

n.安慰剂；宽慰话

参考例句：

• The placebo has been found to work with a lot of different cases.人们已发现安慰剂能在很多不同的病例中发挥作用。
• The placebo effect refers to all the observable behaviors caused by placebo.安慰剂效应是指由安慰剂所引起的可观察的行为。

8 intestines   

n.肠( intestine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perhaps the most serious problems occur in the stomach and intestines. 最严重的问题或许出现在胃和肠里。 来自辞典例句
• The traps of carnivorous plants function a little like the stomachs and small intestines of animals. 食肉植物的捕蝇器起着动物的胃和小肠的作用。 来自辞典例句

9 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。