2006年VOA标准英语-An Ancient Genetic Disorder Gets Modern Day Att

By Melinda Smith
Baltimore, Maryland
05 September 2006
 
watch report Celiac Disease

For thousands of years, human beings have suffered from a genetic¹ disorder² that has received attention only in the last few decades.  The disorder is called celiac disease and it is triggered by eating something as basic as a slice of bread.  VOA's Melinda Smith has more on this debilitating³ illness and what is being done to treat it.

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Anna carefully inspects food during her trips to the grocery store
  
A trip to the grocery store can sometimes take hours for Anna Quigg.  She must carefully read the ingredients itemized on the side of the food product, making sure that no wheat, barley⁴ or rye is used.

"So you definitely know that you can't have soups with noodles in them," says Anna, “but you also have to be careful about soups that have a thicker sauce and some other soups because they often use wheat or wheat flour to thicken them."

These grains contain a protein substance called gluten, a binding⁵ agent used in everything from soup to ice cream, to ketchup⁶.  Sometimes the clues she looks for are not so clear.

 
Anna Quigg
  
"So it would say 'modified food starch⁷' and you wouldn't know if that was from corn, which would be fine, or if that was from wheat or barley. You'd have to call the manufacturer and find out, and a lot of the times the manufacturer would say, ‘Well, if you give us the barcode on that specific one, I can tell you whether that specific one is okay.  But our sources change, and so sometimes we change from wheat to corn.'  You know, so then it gets more complicated," explains Anna.

As a teenager, Anna Quigg was diagnosed with joint⁸ pain, a racing⁹ heartbeat and severe anemia¹⁰.  Over time she developed gastrointestinal problems.  Mealtime -- especially when away from home -- became an ordeal¹¹ until a friend suggested she be tested for celiac disease.

"You realize over 11 years how you've changed your lifestyle only after you've started feeling better and realized that not everybody goes right home after dinner, and not everybody has to know where all the bathrooms are all the time."

Celiac sufferers often experience diarrhea, weight loss, abdominal¹² pain, chronic¹³ fatigue¹⁴ and malnutrition¹⁵.  The intestine¹⁶ is ultimately damaged. 

This gluten intolerance is thought to have evolved from the early development of agriculture.  It was first recognized in Europe. It has recently been diagnosed in North and South America, India and surprisingly, among a group of Saharan refugees.  The "Saharwee", as they are known, did not have the disease until humanitarian¹⁷ groups began delivering wheat and other affected¹⁸ grains.

Dr. Carlo Catassi   
  
Dr. Carlo Catassi has worked with the "Saharwee." "We found that 5.6 percent of the general pediatric population is infected with celiac disease, one in 18 children, which is a tremendous load of disease, a tremendous burden of disease in this population."

Doctors Carlo Catassi and Alessio Fasano are two of the world's top experts on celiac disease.  Their research in Ancona, Italy and at the University of Maryland in Baltimore has focused on potential treatments -- a pill or vaccine¹⁹.  Dr. Fasano says until either is available, celiac patients have only one option -- a restricted diet.

Dr. Alessio Fasano   
  
"One of the most enjoyable and natural activities of humankind, that is, eating, will become a very time consuming, mental exercise that sometimes can have implications in your behavior,” explains Dr. Fasano, “because that can make you really stressed and depressed²⁰."

A positive diagnosis²¹ of celiac disease is made from a blood test and possibly a biopsy from the intestine.  But it may not be possible to conduct either of these medical procedures in remote areas around the world. In the meantime, celiac experts are warning relief organizations about the risks of sending wheat abroad.

1 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。

2 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。

3 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

4 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

5 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

6 ketchup   

n.蕃茄酱，蕃茄沙司

参考例句：

• There's a spot of ketchup on the tablecloth.桌布上有一点番茄酱的渍斑。
• Could I have some ketchup and napkins,please?请给我一些番茄酱和纸手巾？

7 starch   

n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews.玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。
• I think there's too much starch in their diet.我看是他们的饮食里淀粉太多了。

8 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

9 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

10 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。

11 ordeal   

n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验

参考例句：

• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
• Being lost in the wilderness for a week was an ordeal for me.在荒野里迷路一星期对我来说真是一场磨难。

12 abdominal   

adj.腹（部）的，下腹的；n.腹肌

参考例句：

• The abdominal aorta is normally smaller than the thoracic aorta.腹主动脉一般比胸主动脉小。
• Abdominal tissues sometimes adhere after an operation.手术之后腹部有时会出现粘连。

13 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

14 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

15 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

16 intestine   

adj.内部的；国内的；n.肠

参考例句：

• This vitamin is absorbed through the walls of the small intestine.这种维生素通过小肠壁被吸收。
• The service productivity is the function,including external efficiency,intestine efficiency and capacity efficiency.服务业的生产率是一个包含有外部效率、内部效率和能力效率的函数。

17 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

18 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

19 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

20 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

21 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。