VOA标准英语2010年-Antipsychotic Drugs Prescribed For Chi

Seroquel is used to treat mental disorders² such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder¹ and autism. They are suspected of causing rapid weight gain, even in the first week of taking the drugs.

Researchers have found that some antipsychotic drugs frequently prescribed for children and teenagers are causing them to gain a disturbing amount of weight. And that puts them at risk for diabetes³ and heart disease later in life.  While doctors have known for some time that these types of medications cause weight gain in adults, there has been little research until now on how they affect kids and teens. 

The drugs are used to treat mental disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism.  They are known as "second generation" drugs, designed to alleviate⁴ side effects of older "first generation" medicines that often caused muscle spasms⁵ and stiffness.

But now those side effects have apparently⁶ been replaced by something else:  rapid weight gain, even in the first week of taking the drugs.

Dr. Christoph Correll of Zucker Hillside Hospital in New York led the study.

"It was a large weight gain, ranging from eight to 15 percent of body weight, which is quite dramatic in just three months," Dr. Correll said.

 

The clinical trial involved four drugs that were given to more than 270 young patients, ranging in age from four to 19.   It was the first time the participants had been given antipsychotic drugs. 

The drugs are aripiprazole, sold under the brand name Abilify, olanzapine, also known as Zyprexa, quetiapine whose brand name is Seroquel, and risperidone sold under the brand name Risperdal. 

While weight gain was associated with all of the drugs, children taking Zyprexa gained the most.  

The weight gain sparked concern among researchers who said further studies are needed to gauge⁷ the long term effects.

"Too much weight gain, and particularly accumulation of fat in the abdomen⁸ area is problematic," Dr. Correll said, "because the fat mass can induce changes that are metabolically⁹ bad, like an increase in glucose¹⁰ or insulin, also an increase in fat, blood fats, like triglycerides or cholesterol¹¹."

And those are risks for diabetes and heart disease.

Dr. Correll says he hopes research will help design new drugs to block the weight gain. In the meantime, he is urging more frequent monitoring of the children who are taking the drugs. 

 

1 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。

2 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

5 spasms   

n.痉挛( spasm的名词复数 )；抽搐；（能量、行为等的）突发；发作

参考例句：

• After the patient received acupuncture treatment,his spasms eased off somewhat. 病人接受针刺治疗后，痉挛稍微减轻了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The smile died, squeezed out by spasms of anticipation and anxiety. 一阵阵预测和焦虑把她脸上的微笑挤掉了。 来自辞典例句

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

8 abdomen   

n.腹，下腹(胸部到腿部的部分)

参考例句：

• How to know to there is ascarid inside abdomen?怎样知道肚子里面有蛔虫？
• He was anxious about an off-and-on pain the abdomen.他因时隐时现的腹痛而焦虑。

9 metabolically   

代谢的（metabolic的副词形式）

参考例句：

• Intact skin is a highly complex, metabolically active organ. 完整的皮肤是一个高度复杂、代谢灵敏的器官。 来自辞典例句

10 glucose   

n.葡萄糖

参考例句：

• I gave him an extra dose of glucose to pep him up.我给他多注射了一剂葡萄糖以增强他的活力。
• The doctor injected glucose into his patient's veins.医生将葡萄糖注入病人的静脉。

11 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。