HEALTH REPORT - Blood Pressure Drugs May Prevent Dry Eye Syn

HEALTH REPORT - Blood Pressure Drugs May Prevent Dry Eye Syndrome¹
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Wednesday, April 07, 2004

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Many people around the world suffer from dry eye syndrome. Lack of tears, the natural fluid of the eye, causes this condition. Older people are most likely to develop it.

Dry eye syndrome makes your eyes hurt, itch² and feel tired. The condition can damage the surface of your eyes if it is not treated. The syndrome does not cause people to lose their sight. But it can make daily life unpleasant.

Over the years, not much research has been done on dry eye syndrome. But a recent study shows that drugs called ACE³ inhibitors may prevent the disorder⁴. Doctors usually order these drugs for people to treat high blood pressure. The research results appeared the publication Archives of Ophthalmology.

Barbara Klein led the research team from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Almost two-thousand-five-hundred people took part. They were ages forty-eight to ninety-one. None had dry eye syndrome when the study began. Over five years, some took ACE inhibitors for their high blood pressure. Others in the study did not take those drugs.

During the five years, three-hundred-twenty-two people developed dry eye. That was about thirteen percent of those studied. The risk of dry eye syndrome increased among older people and those with other health problems. People who suffered from diabetes⁵ were also more likely to develop the condition. So were those with allergies⁶. They had reactions to substances including animal hair and plant pollen⁷. People who took some kinds of medicines also were more likely to develop dry eye than other people.

Dry eye developed in about nine percent of the people taking ACE inhibitor drugs. Among those not taking the drugs, almost fourteen percent got dry eye syndrome.

Health experts say there are simple ways you can try to treat the condition. For example, you can open and close your eyes more often. You can rest your eyes by closing them. You can avoid air conditioning, direct wind and smoke. You can buy a humidifying device to add water to the air inside your home. This especially helps during cold weather. And you can buy fluid for eyes similar to human tears. But if none of this helps, experts say you should see your doctor for advice.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Jerilyn Watson.

1 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

2 itch   

n.痒，渴望，疥癣；vi.发痒，渴望

参考例句：

• Shylock has an itch for money.夏洛克渴望发财。
• He had an itch on his back.他背部发痒。

3 ace   

n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的

参考例句：

• A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。
• He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。

4 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

5 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

6 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

7 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。