SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Asthma

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - October 8, 2002: Asthma¹

By Caty Weaver²

VOICE ONE:
This is Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Bob Doughty³ with the VOA Special English program SCIENCE IN THE NEWS. Today, we tell

about the disease asthma. It affects as many as one-hundred-fifty-million people around the world.
((THEME)
)
VOICE ONE:

Asthma is a serious lung disease that causes breathing problems. These problems, called
asthma attacks, can kill. Asthma can affect people of all age groups but often begins in
childhood. It can be controlled but not cured. Sufferers must deal with the disease every day.

Stavros Kontzias (cun-ZEE-ahs) is a six-year-old boy living near Washington, D-C. He
developed asthma when he was about two years old. His parents, Susie and Zack, say the
breathing problems would appear whenever Stavros got sick with a cold or lung infection.

His father remembers those experiences as very frightening. He says Stavros coughed a lot.
The boy struggled to breathe. His breathing became very loud and had a strange sound. That
kind of breathing is called wheezing⁴. Mister Kontzias says his son never turned blue from a
lack of oxygen. But, he says it was apparent that little air was getting into Stavros’s lungs.

VOICE TWO:

The Kontziases made several emergency visits to the hospital with Stavros during these sicknesses. Once there,
doctors gave Stavros drugs called steroids. Mister Kontzias says the steroids worked very fast to open his son’s
air passages. But, he says he began to worry about long-term effects of high amounts of steroids as the trips to the
hospital increased.

So, his parents took Stavros to a pulmonary pediatric specialist. That is a doctor who is an expert in diseases that
affect children’s lungs. The doctor listened to the boy’s lungs. He also used measuring devices to test the
child’s airflow limitations. The combination of the test results and Stavros’s medical history showed he had
asthma.

VOICE ONE:

Today, Stavros takes four medicines a day to control his asthma. His trips to the hospital emergency room now
are rare events. His parents say they hope that Stavros will stop suffering from the disease as he gets older.

The Kontziases take steps other than medicine to control their son’s asthma. They help Stavros avoid activities
that can lead to an asthma attack. For example, the boy stopped playing the sport of soccer. The continuous
running required to play the sport severely⁵ decreased his breathing ability. So Stavros now plays baseball instead.
It gives him more time to rest and requires much less running.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE TWO:

Experts say exercise is one of the things that can start an asthma attacks. Things that lead to asthma attacks are


called triggers. Although doctors do not know the cause of asthma, they have identified most of its triggers. For
example, the common cold can cause an asthma attack in a person who has the disease. There are also several air
pollutants⁷ that can lead to an asthma attack. Pollen⁸ is one such pollutant⁶. Pollen is a fine dust that comes from
plants that produce seeds. However, almost any kind of dust can cause an asthma attack if enough of it is in the
air. This includes common dust found in houses.

Air pollution from burning fuel also can cause an asthma attack. Tobacco smoke can do the same. Some kinds of
animal fur are a trigger for asthma. And, even some insects in the home can lead to asthma attacks.

VOICE ONE:

Several things happen in the lungs when an asthma sufferer has an attack. Cells in the air passages begin to
produce too much of a thick, sticky substance called mucous⁹. The mucous creates blocked areas in the air
passages. The tissue that lines the air passages begins to expand at the same time. And, the muscles in the
passages tighten¹⁰.

All these changes cause the air passages to narrow. This reduces the amount of air that can flow in and out of the
lungs. The sufferer can not get a good, deep, breath of air. The narrowed airways¹² also cause coughing and a tight
feeling in the chest.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE TWO:

Health experts say asthma cases are increasing around the world. The World Health Organization says asthma
rates worldwide are increasing on average by fifty percent every ten years. The W-H-O says asthma cases in
western Europe have increased by two times in ten years. The W-H-O says the number of asthma sufferers has
increased in the United States by about sixty percent in the past twenty years. American experts give an even
higher number. The American Academy of Allergy¹³, Asthma and Immunology says the rise was seventy-five
percent in about the same time period. It also says an estimated seventeen-million Americans have the disease.

The number of deaths from asthma also has risen in the United States. The W-H-O says about five-thousand
Americans die from asthma attacks each year. In the early nineteen-eighties, the yearly death rate from asthma in
the United States was about half that.

VOICE ONE:

The World Health Organization says asthma is not just a problem in industrial countries. It says the disease
affects people in developing nations as well. However, the incidence of the disease differs greatly from area to
area. The W-H-O says as many as twenty-million people suffer from the disease in India.

It says an estimated fifteen percent of Indian children suffer from the disease. The W-H-O says almost twenty
percent of children in Kenya show signs of asthma. Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru and Uruguay also have a
high rate of childhood asthma. The W-H-O says as many as thirty percent of children in those countries show
signs of asthma.

VOICE TWO:

Asthma kills about one-hundred-eighty-thousand people a year. The W-H-O says it also has huge economic
costs. The costs linked to asthma are believed to be higher than those of tuberculosis¹⁴ and AIDS combined. The
W-H-O says the United States spends six-thousand-million dollars a year on health care and other economic costs
of the disease. It says Britain spends almost a third of that on health care for asthma and lost productivity of
workers.The World Health Organization says greater international action is needed to deal with asthma. It says
asthma sufferers, healthcare providers and the general public must learn more about the disease and the problems
linked to it. The W-H-O says a worldwide system should be put into effect to observe and record asthma rates
around the world. And, it says more research is needed to find the cause of asthma and develop new ways to treat
it.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE ONE:


Medical experts have suspected for some time that there was a genetic¹⁶ link to asthma. A child has a greater
chance of developing asthma if his or her parent is asthmatic. Recently, however, British and American scientists
said they may have found a gene¹⁵ involved in the disease.

Three groups of researchers took part in the study. One group works for Genome Therapeutics, a drug company
in Waltham, Massachusetts. The other scientists are from the drug company Schering-Plough and the University
of Southampton in Britain.

VOICE TWO:

The gene is called ADAM-thirty-three. The scientists identified it through genetic testing of more than four-
hundred families in the United States and Britain whose members have the disease. The researchers say the gene
alone does not cause asthma. But, they say its presence appears to increase a person’s chances of developing the
disease.

They say the gene may be involved in the main condition of asthma — the narrowing of airway¹¹ passages.
However, the researchers say it is too early to say what percentage of asthma sufferers may have an abnormal
gene.

Scientists say the finding could lead to new research about the causes of asthma and new drugs to treat the
disease. It could also lead to methods to identify people most at risk for asthma and early treatment to help
prevent the development of the disease.

((THEME))

VOICE ONE:

This Science in the News program was written by Caty Weaver. It was produced by George Grow with audio
assistance from Dwayne Collins. This is Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice
of America.

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1 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

2 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

3 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

4 wheezing   

v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的现在分词 )；哮鸣

参考例句：

• He was coughing and wheezing all night. 他整夜又咳嗽又喘。
• A barrel-organ was wheezing out an old tune. 一架手摇风琴正在呼哧呼哧地奏着一首古老的曲子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

6 pollutant   

n.污染物质，散布污染物质者

参考例句：

• Coal itself is a heavy pollutant.煤本身就是一种严重的污染物。
• Carbon dioxide may not be a typical air pollutant.二氧化碳可能不是一种典型的污染物。

7 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 pollen   

n.[植]花粉

参考例句：

• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。

9 mucous   

adj. 黏液的，似黏液的

参考例句：

• Healthy,skin,mucous membranes,and cilia are natural barriers to many viruses.健康的皮肤，粘膜和纤毛是许多病毒的天然屏障。
• Seromucous glands contain both mucous and serous cells.浆粘液腺既含有粘液性细胞，又含有浆液性细胞。

10 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

11 airway   

n.空中航线，通风口

参考例句：

• Lay them on their side and ensure the airway is unobstructed.让他们侧躺着，并确保呼吸道畅通。
• There is a purple airway in London Airport.伦敦机场里有一条皇家专用飞机跑道。

12 AIRWAYS   

航空公司

参考例句：

• The giant jets that increasingly dominate the world's airways. 越来越称雄于世界航线的巨型喷气机。
• At one point the company bought from Nippon Airways a 727 jet. 有一次公司从日本航空公司买了一架727型喷气机。

13 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。

14 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

15 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

16 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。