VOA标准英语2011--Heart Failure Drug Not as Effective on U

Heart Failure Drug Not as Effective on US Patients

Before new drugs are approved for use, they go through a multi-step approval procedure. In recent years, the process has become more globalized, but a new study suggests that the results of clinical trials in one country or region may not be relevant for patients in another.
For many new drugs, the biggest market may be in Europe and North America, but when the testing moves out of the lab and into human subjects, increasingly the venues¹ include low- and middle-income countries.
As a researcher and cardiologist, Dr. Christopher M. O'Connor, of the Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, has seen studies of new-drug effectiveness that seemed to have different results in different countries. So he combined the results from several studies investigating the effectiveness of drugs called beta blockers for patients with heart failure.
The studies enrolled² patients in both the United States and other countries. Overall, O'Connor says, beta blockers reduced the risk of death by about 32 to 35 percent.
"But what we found is that, in the United States, it was only an eight percent reduction; in the rest of the world it was a 36 percent reduction," he says.
So the question is, why?
"We know that there's differences in the way racial and ethnic³ groups handle drugs, for example. The way they metabolize drugs. There are genetic⁴ differences. There are important cultural and social differences."
Cultural and social differences, he says, may be reflected in a willingness to participate in a clinical trial or follow instructions if you do.
Combining the results of studies done in several countries can mask geographic⁵ differences. A drug that seems generally beneficial across the board can be very effective in one country, but nearly useless in another. And O'Connor says that could hurt patients.
"Once these trials suggest a benefit and get approved, they're going to be used by everybody across the globe," O'Connor says. "And what you don't want to have is a situation that you approve a drug or a device based on a global trial, and then realize five years later that, well, it didn't work in this part of the world or that part of the world."
O'Connor's study of how beta blockers vary in effectiveness in different geographic regions is published online by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

1 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

2 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

4 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。

5 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法