VOA标准英语2010年-Diet May Explain Infection Deaths in O

Sepsis is a severe infection that can often be fatal, particularly in obese¹ patients. Now, a new study suggests why obese patients are at greater risk and suggests a possible new approach to treatment.

Sepsis is seven times more likely to kill patients who are obese, and one possible reason is that the typical Western diet over-stimulates the body's immune response to the sepsis infection.

To test the theory, Louisiana State University professor Chantal Rivera fed a Western style diet to laboratory mice.

"It was high in saturated² fat, high in cholesterol³, high in sugar," she said in a telephone interview. "And then [we] exposed them to a model of sepsis and tried to figure out why the inflammatory response in these septic mice that had been fed long-term with this high-fat, high-calorie diet, whether or not the inflammation would be worse — and it was — and then we tried to go after what would make the inflammatory response worse."

In her study, Rivera found a clue in a particular protein that flourished in the mice that got the Western diet.

"And what we found is that, you get this increase in proteins on the cell surface called receptors, and in particular the receptor called toll-like receptor four was enhanced, compared to mice that were fed a normal rodent⁴ chow."

And with more receptors in mice — and, presumably, people — on the Western diet, there are more places for the sepsis bacteria to infect. That's a simplification, but Rivera says identifying that receptor could give drug researchers a target for medicines that would reduce the threat of sepsis.

"Sepsis is responsible for more than 100,000 deaths annually⁵ in the U.S. alone," Rivera said. "And so, clearly, if we had a target for a drug therapy, it would greatly enhance our capabilities⁶ for the medical management of sepsis in these obese patients."

1 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

2 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

3 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

4 rodent   

n.啮齿动物；adj.啮齿目的

参考例句：

• When there is a full moon,this nocturnal rodent is careful to stay in its burrow.月圆之夜，这种夜间活动的啮齿类动物会小心地呆在地洞里不出来。
• This small rodent can scoop out a long,narrow tunnel in a very short time.这种小啮齿动物能在很短的时间里挖出一条又长又窄的地道来。

5 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

6 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓