VOA慢速英语2009年-Health Report - Biomarkers Show Little Hel

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Cardiovascular disease is the world's leading cause of death. It includes heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure.

Over the years, researchers have identified several substances in the blood that can serve as what they call cardiac biomarkers. These are used to measure the presence and development of cardiovascular disease.

Researchers have increasingly tried to use these biomarkers to identify people who are at high risk of developing heart disease. But a new study has found that they offer little help in this way.

A team from Massachusetts General Hospital and Sweden's Lund University studied how effective the biomarkers are as predictors. Thomas Wang at the Mass General Heart Center was the senior author of the study.

THOMAS WANG: "What we found is that, in fact, even after measuring those additional biomarkers that there wasn't a great deal of benefit in terms of understanding who was more likely to develop heart disease"

Doctor Wang says they did identify some combinations of biomarkers that improved predictions of heart attacks and strokes. But, he says, there is not enough evidence to justify¹ measuring these in everybody.

THOMAS WANG: "It's still possible that in certain patients, measuring these biomarkers would be helpful. There are some patients for whom physicians are really on the fence about whether to give one therapy or another. And in those cases having the biomarker which adds a little bit of information may be helpful in terms of decision making. But for the majority of patients, having the information of the biomarker probably wouldn't make a difference."

Doctor Wang hopes future research will discover biomarkers that are better able to predict the risk of cardiovascular disease. But for now, he says, doctors should depend on traditional risk factors. These include a history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol², tobacco use, diabetes³, obesity⁴, physical inactivity or poor nutrition.

A separate study found no support for a theory that a biomarker called C-reactive protein causes heart disease. Earlier research suggested that the more of the protein in people's blood, the more likely they are to develop heart disease. The new study confirmed a link, but did not find evidence that the C-reactive protein causes the disease.

Both studies appeared in the July first issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.

The World Health Organization estimates that cardiovascular disease killed seventeen and a half million people in two thousand five. That was thirty percent of all deaths. Eight out of ten happened in low and middle income countries. At current growth rates, the W.H.O. expects the number to reach twenty million by two thousand fifteen.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember.

1 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

2 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。

3 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。

4 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。