VOA标准英语2013--HIV Cure Raises Hope

 

HIV Cure Raises Hope

Tim Brown is one of only two people ever to be considered cured of HIV infection. But it was not easy. He also had leukemia. A bone marrow¹ transplant from a donor² with a rare mutation³ cured his HIV.

“The first transplant went well," said Brown. "But the second one was pretty horrible. And I wouldn’t wish what I went through on my worst enemy.”

The latest case, at the University of Mississippi, was different. A baby born to an untreated HIV-positive mother was given a combination of anti-AIDS drugs within hours of birth. The patient has not been identified.

The therapy itself was not unusual, says Dr. Paul Volberding of the University of California at San Francisco. He spoke⁴ to VOA via Skype.

“The treatment was really just regular antiretroviral therapy, HIV drugs," said Volberding. "So in contrast to the first reported cure, this is one that has a lot broader potential implications.”

That means that the early and aggressive treatment the child received may rid the body of the virus before it can take hold. If the results hold up to scrutiny⁵, it’s significant, says Harvard School of Public Health professor Richard Marlink also reached via Skype.

“It’s a big deal to show that, if we really hit the virus hard right at birth, perhaps, for those babies that might be getting infected at that early time in their life, we may be able to eliminate the virus from their system," said Marlink.

The impact could be especially great in sub-Saharan Africa, where most of the roughly 300,000 children born with HIV each year reside.

Marlink says it could save lives, as well as eliminate the burden of lifelong therapy.

“We wouldn’t have to be treating them the rest of their life," he said. "They wouldn’t have the toxicity⁶ the rest of their life and the cost the rest of their life of being on treatment.”

Researchers today are talking not just about treating but curing HIV infection. It’s a remarkable⁷ turn of events for veterans of the epidemic⁸.

“Unbelievable a few years ago," said Volberding. "And we wouldn’t have done it with any sense of optimism at all. And I think now, we’re still pretty realistic about it. We know it’s not around the corner, but there’s at least a critical mass, we hope, of research now being conducted.”

They hope that research will pay off with cures for adults with HIV as well as children. 

1 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

2 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

3 mutation   

n.变化，变异，转变

参考例句：

• People who have this mutation need less sleep than others.有这种突变的人需要的睡眠比其他人少。
• So far the discussion has centered entirely around mutation in the strict sense.到目前为止，严格来讲，讨论完全集中于围绕突变问题上。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

6 toxicity   

n.毒性，毒力

参考例句：

• The hoarse grunt or squeal is characteristic of toxicity.嘶哑的哼声和叫声是中毒的特征。
• Dieldrin is related to aldrin,and its toxicity to earthworms is similar.狄氏剂与艾氏剂有关，对蚯蚓的毒性是相似的。

7 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

8 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。