HEALTH REPORT - Increasing Good Cholesterol

HEALTH REPORT - June 5, 2002: Increasing Good Cholesterol¹

By Nancy Steinbach
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

A medical study in the Netherlands shows that a new substance can increase the level of good cholesterol in the
blood. Doctors say this could protect people against heart attacks. Many people are taking drugs now to lower
bad cholesterol. Yet some research suggests that the level of good cholesterol is more important than the level of
bad cholesterol.

The fatty substance known as cholesterol is important for human life. The body needs it to create cells and
hormones², and to operate the nervous system. All the cholesterol a person needs is produced naturally in the liver³.
This cholesterol is sent into the blood so that cells can get some when they need it. Low density⁴ lipoproteins, or
LDL, transport cholesterol into the blood. LDL in the blood that has not been used by the cells is called bad
cholesterol.

High density lipoproteins are known as HDL. HDL are considered good because they gather up the cholesterol
not used by the cells and move it back to the liver to be destroyed. If LDL levels are too high, there is more
cholesterol in the blood than the HDL can remove. The extra cholesterol attaches to the inside of the arteries⁵. It
can block blood flow and cause heart attack or stroke⁶.

If HDL levels are high, the HDL is moving the unneeded cholesterol out of the
blood, back to the liver. This prevents the cholesterol from attaching to the arteries.
As a result, medical researchers are looking for ways to increase the HDL, or good
cholesterol.

The drug involved in the new test was developed in Japan. It is called a C-E-T-P
inhibitor. It blocks the action of a protein that lowers the amount of HDL in the
body. Researchers in the Netherlands tested it on one-hundred-ninety-eight people.
They found that it increased the good HDL cholesterol by as much as thirty -four
percent. CETP also lowered the bad LDL cholesterol in some people by seven
percent. The results were reported in the magazine, Circulation⁷.

John Kastelein of the University of Amsterdam wrote the report. He said it is the first published study showing
good results in people from a drug that increases HDL cholesterol. More studies must be done to show if the drug
really decreases the chance of heart disease⁸.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.

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1 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。

2 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

3 liver   

n.肝；肝脏

参考例句：

• He has a weak liver.他的肝脏不好。
• The largest organ in the body is the liver.人体最大的器官是肝脏。

4 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

5 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 stroke   

n.笔画，击打，连续的动作，中风，心跳；vt.奉承，轻抚； vi.击打，心跳...

参考例句：

• He drove in a nail with one stroke of the hammer.他一锤就把钉子敲进去了。
• He broke the lock with one stroke of the hammer.他一锤就把锁砸坏了。

7 circulation   

n.循环，流通，传播，发行，发行量

参考例句：

• There is a large circulation in the musical public.在音乐界销路很广。
• The ideas have been in circulation for some time.这些想法已经流行了一段时间。

8 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。