研究证明新艾滋病药物不会引发抑郁和自杀等副作用

Study: AIDS Drug Not Linked to Depression, Suicide

A new study of a popular medicine could ease concerns about its link to depression.

The drug, efavirenz, is used to fight the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV. The virus weakens the body’s natural defenses.

Some researchers once feared that using efavirenz caused patients to become depressed¹ or consider the possibility of suicide. Researchers working in Uganda reported recently that the drug did not cause those negative side effects.

Efavirenz is a low-cost, once-a-day pill used around the world to treat and prevent HIV and the disease AIDS. It is "the treatment of choice" in most of the world, especially in countries that depend on international aid to treat HIV. That information comes from Mark Siedner of the Africa Health Research Institute.

Some studies in the United States and Europe found the drug increased patients' risk of depression or suicide. But other studies did not reach the same finding.

The mixed results led many doctors in the United States to suggest more costly² but possibly safer drugs.

Siedner wanted to take another look at the risk of depression, this time in Africa. From 2005 until 2015, he and a team of Ugandan and U.S. doctors followed 694 patients. All of the patients took either efavirenz or another antiretroviral medication. The doctors asked the subjects whether they experienced depression or ideas of suicide.

No difference

A report on the study was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Siedner says he and his team found there was no difference between the two treatments.

He told VOA, "In other words, efavirenz was not associated with a risk of depression. If anything, there seems to be a signal that…potentially it was associated with a decreased risk. But it wasn't a strong enough [signal] for us to say that."

The researchers also noted³ that 17 of the patients died during the study. But there was not a single death from suicide.

Siedner has two possible explanations for why their findings differed from those in Western countries. He said one possible cause “is that every single ethnic⁴ group in the world, of course, is different, and different in many different ways. Different socially, different environmentally, and in this case, they may be different genetically⁵." His team is looking at whether the genes⁶ that control the metabolism⁷ of the drug have an effect to play in this story.

A second explanation could be the effectiveness of the drug. Because efavirenz is so powerful, it could be keeping people healthier than they expected. As a result, patients might be less likely to report depression or suicidal thoughts.

Anthony Fauci, a leader in AIDS research for over 30 years, praised the new study as important. He heads the U.S. National Institute of Allergy⁸ and Infectious Diseases.

He said the study pushes back against "the initial observation of suicidal ideation, and suicide and depression" as caused by efavirenz.

He told VOA, "I think now what you're seeing is that with these conflicting reports, it's likely someone will come in [with] the proposal to do a randomized study and take a look. So the story isn't ended with this paper."

As more research on the safety of efavirenz is done, new and less costly drugs that might replace it are likely in the future. One of them, dolutegravir, might also create a health risk, however. A study in Botswana found dolutegravir was linked to neural⁹ tube defect in embryos¹⁰. That means it might not be safe for pregnant women.

As always, more research is needed to confirm whether this is a common problem or only affected¹¹ the population in Botswana.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

negative – adj. harmful or bad; unwanted

associate – v. to think of one person or thing when you think of another person or thing

metabolism – n. the chemical processes by which a plant or an animal uses food and water to grow and heal and to make energy

randomized – adj. of or related to something lacking aim, direction or rule

neural tube – n. a structure from which the brain and spinal cord form

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 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

3 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。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

6 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

7 metabolism   

n.新陈代谢

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• All living matter undergoes a process of metabolism.生物都有新陈代谢。

8 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。

9 neural   

adj.神经的，神经系统的

参考例句：

• The neural network can preferably solve the non- linear problem.利用神经网络建模可以较好地解决非线性问题。
• The information transmission in neural system depends on neurotransmitters.信息传递的神经途径有赖于神经递质。

10 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。