VOA慢速英语 2007 1010a

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Depression can cause long periods of sadness and hopelessness, feelings of low self-worth, even physical pain. It is the leading cause of suicide. 
 

The World Health Organization says more than one hundred twenty million people worldwide suffer from depression. But many people may not know it can start at a young age. In the United States, for example, health officials estimate that about five percent of adolescents are depressed¹.

Researchers in the United States have just reported on a study of more than three hundred patients ages twelve to seventeen. All suffered from major depression disorder², the most common form of the disease.

The researchers divided them into three groups. One received the antidepressant drug Prozac. Another received cognitive³ behavioral therapy. The third received both.

The study found that the best treatment was a combination of antidepressant and cognitive behavioral therapy, or C.B.T. This kind of therapy teaches patients to recognize and deal with the thoughts that can result from depression.

It centers on current feelings instead of past events.

At twelve weeks, the researchers found reduced levels of depression in all three groups. But they say the group receiving the combination of treatments had the greatest reduction. This continued through the end of the nine-month study.

The researchers say eighty-six percent of those who received both treatments had improved. This was compared to eighty-one percent each in the two other groups.

The study did not include an untreated control group. So there is no way to know for sure if it was the treatment that eased the depression.

The findings by Duke University researchers appear in the Archives of General Psychiatry⁴.  The National Institute of Mental Health paid for the seventeen million dollar study.

The researchers say the group that received Prozac alone had a higher rate of suicidal thoughts than the other two groups. Experts say antidepressant drugs can increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in teenagers.

And, earlier this year, the government asked drug makers⁵ to extend that warning to patients age eighteen to twenty-four during initial treatment. Generally that means the first one to two months.

And that’s the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver⁶.

1 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

4 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

5 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。