VOA常速英语2008年-Major US Diabetes Study Partially Halted

By Robert Raffaele
Washington, DC
08 February 2008
 
American medical researchers say they are stunned¹ by the results of a major government study on diabetes² and heart disease. They hoped to prove that a long-trusted form of treatment for lowering blood sugar would, if increased, yield even greater results. But as VOA's Robert Raffaele explains, the study has raised more questions.

U.S. government researchers have curtailed³ part of a major clinical trial on the treatment of diabetics, especially those at greatest risk.

The reason: study coordinators found that aggressively lowering blood sugar as close as possible to "normal" levels appeared to increase the risk of a fatal heart attack or stroke.

The study focused on 10,000 adults with Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease. The subjects also had cardiovascular disease or at least two contributing risk factors.

The National Institutes of Health halted the study 18 months early after recording⁴ 257 deaths among aggressively treated patients, compared to 203 fatalities⁵ among those given more standard care.

The results suggested exactly the opposite of what researchers had hoped to prove: that pushing blood-sugar levels below current targets in high-risk diabetics would be beneficial.

Researchers were unable to determine why those treated aggressively had a higher death rate. They found no link between the deaths and the drugs used in the trial, including Avandia, a drug suspected of increasing diabetics' risk of heart attacks.

Despite the uncertainty⁶ created by the trial, researchers say diabetics who control their blood sugar can reduce their risk for kidney disease, blindness, and complications leading to amputations.

They say patients should still consult with their doctors before considering any change in treatment.

1 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

2 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。

3 curtailed   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Spending on books has been severely curtailed. 购书开支已被大大削减。
• Their public health programme had to be severely curtailed. 他们的公共卫生计划不得不大大收缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

5 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。