VOA慢速英语20060621a

HEALTH REPORT - Pregnant Women Warned About a Kind of Blood Pressure MedicineBy Brianna Blake

Broadcast: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 16:00:00 UTC

I'm Shep O'Neal with the VOA Special English Health Report.


taking blood pressure

Some of the most commonly used medicines for high blood pressure are drugs called ACE¹ inhibitors. Doctors have given these drugs to patients for twenty-five years. A government study in the United States found that the use almost doubled between nineteen ninety-five and two thousand.

Doctors have known for years that women should not take ACE inhibitors during the last six months of pregnancy². The medicine can injure the baby. ACE inhibitors, though, have been considered safe when taken during the first three months.

But a new study has found that women who take these drugs early in their pregnancy still increase the risk of birth disorders³. The study shows that, compared to others, their babies were almost three times as likely to be born with major problems. These included problems with the formation of the brain and nervous system and holes in the heart.

The researchers say they found no increased risk in women who took other blood pressure medicines during the first three months.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and Boston University did the study. The New England Journal of Medicine published the results.

The researchers studied the records of almost thirty thousand births between nineteen eighty-five and two thousand. Two hundred nine babies were born to women who took ACE inhibitors during the first three months of their pregnancies⁴.

Eighteen of the babies, or almost nine percent, had major disorders.

ACE inhibitors are often given to patients with diabetes⁵. But diabetes during pregnancy can result in birth defects. So the study did not include any women known to be diabetic.

ACE inhibitors suppress a protein called angiotensin-converting enzyme⁶, or ACE. This enzyme produces a chemical in the body that makes blood passages narrow. The drugs increase the flow of blood so pressure is reduced.

New drugs are tested on pregnant animals to see if they might cause birth defects in humans. But experts say these tests are not always dependable.

The United States Food and Drug Administration helped pay for the study. The F.D.A. says women who might become pregnant should talk with their doctor about other ways to treat high blood pressure.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Brianna Blake. Read and listen to our reports at www.unsv.com I'm Shep O'Neal.

1 ace   

n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的

参考例句：

• A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。
• He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。

2 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

3 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》

4 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

5 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。

6 enzyme   

n.酵素，酶

参考例句：

• Above a certain temperature,the enzyme molecule will become unfolded.超过一定温度，酶分子将会展开。
• An enzyme that dissolves the fibrin of blood clots.能溶解血凝块中的纤维的酶。