VOA标准英语2010年-Research: Fish Oil May Slow Aging of H

Scientists say that omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil can help people with heart disease live longer. But until now, no one knew why omega-3 oils are so beneficial.

This is what coronary artery¹ disease looks like.  Plaque² builds up inside the coronary arteries³ and blocks the flow of blood to the heart.

Coronary artery disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Numerous studies show that cold water fish --salmon, tuna and other oily fish -- contain omega-3 fatty acids that can decrease the risk of this disease. But no one knew exactly why.

Dr. Ramin Farzaneh-Far at the University of California conducted a study to see if there might be a link between cellular⁴ aging and omega-3 acids. "The main result from our study is that patients with high levels of omega-3 fish oil in the blood appear to have a slowing of the biological aging process," Dr. Farzaneh-Far said.

Protective caps on the ends of chromosomes⁵ called telomeres, shown here in red, contain genetic⁶ material.  As they shorten, cells age.

Dr. Farzaneh-Far and colleagues measured the length of telomeres in blood cells of 600 heart patients. They wanted to see if there was any association between the levels of omega-3 fatty acids and the change in telomere length over a period of time.

"Patients with the highest levels of omega-3 fish oils were found to display the slowest decrease in telomere length, whereas those with the lowest levels of omega-3 fish oils in the blood had the fastest rate of telomere shortening, suggesting that these patients were aging faster than those with the higher fish oil levels in their blood," Dr. Farzaneh-Far explained.

Dr. Farzaneh-Far says the results of his study support the American Heart Association's recommendation that heart disease patients with coronary artery disease have at least one gram per day of omega-3 fish oil.

Researchers used to think that only regular exercise and managing stress could keep telomeres healthy. But either eating fatty fish or taking omega-3 supplements can also be effective. At the most, Dr. Michael Roizen of the Cleveland Clinic says it will not hurt. "It's a risk free way of potentially extending lifespan and reducing disability," he said.

And omega-3 acids are not just for heart disease patients. Omega-3's have been associated with easing joint⁷ inflammation, slowing memory decline, and reducing macular degeneration, the most common cause of blindness in the elderly.

1 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。

2 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。

3 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

5 chromosomes   

n.染色体( chromosome的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chromosomes also determine the sex of animals. 染色体也决定动物的性别。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Each of four chromosomes divide longitudinally. 四种染色体的每一种都沿着纵向分裂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。