VOA常速英语2015--新型简单测试或能检测出糖尿病早期迹象（在线收听）

Simple New Test Detects Early Signs of Diabetes 新型简单测试或能检测出糖尿病早期迹象

People with Type 1 diabetes, usually diagnosed in children and young adults, must take insulin injections and watch their diet to keep their blood sugar levels balanced.

Diagnosing the disease usually requires taking blood samples, a frightening experience for many youngsters. But researchers in the United Kingdom say they have developed a simple, non-invasive initial test, which requires only a whiff of the patient’s breath.

It is estimated that each year, as many as 80,000 children develop Type 1 diabetes. The autoimmune disease can be lethal if untreated, so early discovery is of ultimate importance.

每年约有80000多名儿童患1型糖尿病。如不及时治疗这种自身免疫性疾病会危及生命安全,因此提早发现就显得极为重要。

One of the side effects of diabetes is sweet-smelling breath. Oxford University Emeritus Professor of Chemistry Gus Hancock says it is due to the build-up of chemicals called ketones in the patient’s blood.

糖尿病的副作用之一是呼气发出的甜香味。牛津大学名誉教授化学加斯·汉考克表示这是由于被称为酮的化学物质在病人血液中累积所致。

“And the sweet smell is this particular ketone that is given out; it's called acetone. And doctors have regularly smelled acetone on the breath of patients who are in a state of diabetic ketoacidosis and used it as a diagnostic,” says Hancock.

“甜香味尤其是这种酮所散发出，它的学名是丙酮。而医生经常通过闻酮症酸中毒糖尿病患者呼吸中的丙酮作为诊断方法。”

British researchers say they have developed a portable breath analyzer that can detect even a very small amount of acetone in the patient’s breath.

英国研究人员表示已经研制出一种便携式呼吸分析仪,可以检测出病人呼吸中极为少量的丙酮。

Not an easy task

CEO of Oxford Medical Diagnostics, Ian Campbell, says it was not an easy task, because breath contains molecules of millions of compounds while this test requires detecting only one of them.

牛津医学诊断首席执行官伊安·坎贝尔表示分析仪的研发绝非易事,因为普通人的呼吸包含数以百万计的分子化合物,而测试只需检测其中之一。

“So, what we do is allow the subject to blow into the device, we extract out the volatile organic compound we wish to measure, in this case acetone. The remainder of the breath passes through the device. We then release the molecules that we're interested in into the cavity to make the measurement,” says Campbell.

“因此我们做的就是允许检测目标进入设备,然后我们回提取希望测量的挥发性有机化合物,在这种测试下是丙酮。而其余部分也会通过这个设备。然后我们释放我们感兴趣的分子进入腔内进行测量。”

Professor Hancock, who collaborated in the development of the device, says similar analyzers exist but only as desktop-sized heavy boxes.

合作开发这款设备的汉考克教授表示也有类似的分析检测仪,但目前阶段只能使用桌面式的沉重大箱子。

“The aim that we have is to get this into a hand-held device… that somebody can pick up and use by blowing simply through a mouth-piece,” says Hancock.

“我们的目标是手持设备…人们随时拿出来简简单单通过进棉口吹气就可以检测。”

Researchers say the new analyzer should be ready for doctors’ offices within a year, while even smaller versions for individual use may be available later.

研究人员表示医生们应该在一年之内就能用上这种新型分析仪,而供个人使用更小的版本可能会晚些时候推出。

But they point out the breath analyzer should be seen only as a first screening, and a diagnosis must be confirmed by a proper blood test.

但他们指出这种呼吸分析仪应仅视为第一道检测程序,而后必须通过适当血液测试才能得出诊断结论。