VOA慢速英语2011--Scientists Continue Their Search for Bet

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Scientists Continue Their Search for Better Treatments for Multiple Sclerosis – and a Cure

FAITH LAPIDUS: This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English. I’m Faith Lapidus.
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: And I’m Christopher Cruise. Today, we tell about the disease multiple sclerosis.
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FAITH LAPIDUS: Multiple sclerosis is neither easy to say nor easy to live with. Those who have multiple sclerosis often say they live with it, instead of saying they suffer from it. American officials estimate that about four hundred thousand people in the United States have multiple sclerosis. Worldwide, more than two million people are thought to have the disease, which often is called “MS.”
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Multiple sclerosis is different from many other diseases. The signs of MS are not the same in all people who have it. These symptoms may appear and then disappear for a long time. Some people who have MS do not show many symptoms of the disease at all. Their friends may not even know they have it.
But there are many symptoms. They include reduced or lost ability to move the arms and legs, and loss of feeling in one body part or another. People with MS may have muscle weakness or low energy levels. Other signs include loss of balance or eyesight, a lack of sensation and losing the ability to speak clearly. Experts say these problems could results from disorders¹ other than MS.
FAITH LAPIDUS: The progress, severity and symptoms of MS in any one person cannot be predicted. But researchers are working on being able to do so.
Timothy Coetzee is the Chief Research Officer for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. He has been studying MS since nineteen ninety-three. He told VOA that there has been progress in MS research since he began working on finding a cure.
TIMOTHY COETZEE: “When I moved into the MS community, there was one approved therapy. Today, there are eight approved therapies that are making a difference in the lives of people with MS.”
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal² cord. The nervous system is the main target of the disease. In effect, MS involves the body’s own natural defenses attacking the nervous system. The cause of MS is not known, although scientists have some theories about the cause. Most forms of MS are described as progressive. This means the disease gets worse as time passes.
In MS patients, a fatty substance covering the nerves – called myelin – is destroyed. This blocks the flow of information within the brain. It can also stop the flow between the brain and the rest of the body. In most people, electric signals pass from the nerves to the muscles and back to the brain. But this does not always happen in people with MS.
FAITH LAPIDUS: The central nervous system has millions of nerve cells. They are joined by long, thin nerve fibers³, called “axons.” In people with the disease, these axons are cut or destroyed.
Electric signals start in nerve cells and travel along these axons to and from the brain. The myelin protects the fibers. Myelin works like protective coverings work on electric wires. It also provides nutrients⁴ and support to the axons.
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: In people with MS, the myelin is infected or damaged. Sometimes this damage is healed naturally by the body. If not, it grows larger, and the myelin loses its connection with the nerve fibers. As time passes, the myelin is destroyed. Hardened scar tissue then forms over the nerve fibers. This hardening process is called sclerosis. The word comes from the Latin language. It means “scar.” The many, or multiple, areas of hardened or scar tissue give the disease its name.
In MS patients, when nerve signals reach a damaged area, some signals are blocked or delayed as they travel to or from the brain. This results in problems in different parts of the body. These problems may appear and then disappear. Sometimes there are long periods of time when there are no problems at all. Or, they may happen more often and become worse. Doctors do not know what causes this process.
FAITH LAPIDUS: MS affects women at least two times as often as men. The average age of people diagnosed with – or found to have the disease – is between twenty and fifty years old.
Thirty-five year old Amy Jo Rowell has MS. She had planned to be a teacher before doctors announced she had MS four years ago. She says she had signs of the disease at least six years before that.
AMY JO ROWELL: “My coordination⁵ was quite incompatible⁶ with what I had intended my body to do. I was having a hard time navigating⁷ through doorways⁹. I would see the doorway⁸, I would know what I needed to do, but, more often than not, I would graze the side of the doorway and my shoulders were becoming bruised¹⁰. When I would be brushing my teeth I would miss my mouth, or if I’d be eating I would, I would miss with my fork, and had a lot of weakness, especially in my right arm, was tripping quite a bit.”
FAITH LAPIDUS: Still, only her friends and family know that Amy Jo Rowell has MS. Ms. Rowell lives in Wisconsin. She operates an animal shelter. People who come to the shelter do not know she has MS. They cannot tell by looking at her.
Ms. Rowell told VOA her symptoms were not noteworthy by themselves. But, she says, when she put all the pieces together, it was clear that she had the disease.
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: As we have noted¹¹, no one knows what causes MS. For years, doctors believed where a person lived or travelled might influence development of the disease. Now, studies support the theory that it is not just the environment but a person’s genes¹² and even viruses that may influence whether a person will develop MS. The disease may affect one or more family members. A cousin of Ms. Rowell’s mother had it.
FAITH LAPIDUS: Researchers have yet to identify which virus or viruses might cause MS. Many believe there may be events known as triggers that take place when a person’s natural defenses misunderstand signals and attack the body.
Dr. Coetzee says researchers are studying several hundred drugs that could help people with MS. He says some of the drugs could protect the brain from damage. One day, he says, damaged nerves may be rebuilt, and existing damage repaired.
TIMOTHY COETZEE: “I’m quite optimistic that in the next five years we’ll start to see a whole next generation of therapies that both will be restorative, protective and that will stop disease progression.”
FAITH LAPIDUS: One study showed that women who get plenty of Vitamin D during pregnancy¹³ may be protecting their babies from developing MS later in life. Vitamin D is found in fortified¹⁴ milk and fatty fish like salmon¹⁵. The human body also produces the vitamin after contact between the skin and sunlight.
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Doctors who suspect someone has MS must perform tests and study the patient’s history of health problems. MS symptoms can depend on where the nerve scars are in the central nervous system. And some of these signs are not always easy to see.
Magnetic Resonance¹⁶ Imaging – or MRI – is one way to tell if someone has multiple sclerosis. The test involves studying the magnetic signals from tissues in the brain or spinal cord. An MRI can show if there are scars from MS along a patient’s nerves, or there is disease activity. A doctor can use this test as one way to tell if the person might have the disease.
FAITH LAPIDUS: As we have seen, there is no cure for MS, but scientists are developing a better understanding of it. This is leading to better treatments and a better quality of life for those who live with the disease.
Amy Jo Rowell says she takes medicines daily, takes good care of herself and asks for help when she needs it. She changes her activities, listens to her body and slows down when she needs to. But most of the time she says, she just keeps moving.
AMY JO ROWELL: “Despite a diagnosis¹⁷ of something, whether it’s MS or, or any other ailment¹⁸ that it could be, uh, an indicator¹⁹ to somebody that they don’t have to give up their dreams. There was a period of time that I thought that I might have to stop working. And I’m really glad that I, I didn’t listen to that inner fear, and that I just kept going.”
FAITH LAPIDUS: Ms. Rowell says she feels empowered by small improvements in her health and in MS research. She says she has strong support from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and, most importantly, from her family.
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CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: The National Multiple Sclerosis Society provides financial support for research on the disease. The Society has created a website that tells about progress in the fight against MS. The website has the latest news on research and treatment that can change and improve the lives of people living with MS. And it has information about help available to patients, their families and doctors.
The Multiple Sclerosis International Federation²⁰ has created a website where you can learn about the disease in at least fifteen languages. On that website, you can learn about services available for MS sufferers in many countries. We have placed links to those websites on our website - VOA Special English dot com.
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FAITH LAPIDUS: This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Christopher Cruise. Our producer was June Simms. I’m Faith Lapidus.
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: And I’m Christopher Cruise. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

1 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》

2 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

3 fibers   

光纤( fiber的名词复数 )； （织物的）质地； 纤维，纤维物质

参考例句：

• Thesolution of collagen-PVA was wet spined with the sodium sulfate as coagulant and collagen-PVA composite fibers were prepared. 在此基础上，以硫酸钠为凝固剂，对胶原-PVA共混溶液进行湿法纺丝，制备了胶原-PVA复合纤维。
• Sympathetic fibers are distributed to all regions of the heart. 交感神经纤维分布于心脏的所有部分。

4 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

6 incompatible   

adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的

参考例句：

• His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。
• Speed and safety are not necessarily incompatible.速度和安全未必不相容。

7 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

8 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

9 doorways   

n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The houses belched people; the doorways spewed out children. 从各家茅屋里涌出一堆一堆的人群，从门口蹦出一群一群小孩。 来自辞典例句
• He rambled under the walls and doorways. 他就顺着墙根和门楼遛跶。 来自辞典例句

10 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

13 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。

14 fortified   

adj. 加强的

参考例句：

• He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
• The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。

15 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

16 resonance   

n.洪亮；共鸣；共振

参考例句：

• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments.一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。
• The areas under the two resonance envelopes are unequal.两个共振峰下面的面积是不相等的。

17 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

18 ailment   

n.疾病，小病

参考例句：

• I don't have even the slightest ailment.我什么毛病也没有。
• He got timely treatment for his ailment.他的病得到了及时治疗。

19 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

20 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。