VOA常速英语2015--新型简单测试或能检测出糖尿病早期迹象

 

Simple New Test Detects Early Signs of Diabetes¹ 新型简单测试或能检测出糖尿病早期迹象

People with Type 1 diabetes, usually diagnosed in children and young adults, must take insulin injections and watch their diet to keep their blood sugar levels balanced.

Diagnosing the disease usually requires taking blood samples, a frightening experience for many youngsters. But researchers in the United Kingdom say they have developed a simple, non-invasive initial test, which requires only a whiff of the patient’s breath.

It is estimated that each year, as many as 80,000 children develop Type 1 diabetes. The autoimmune disease can be lethal² if untreated, so early discovery is of ultimate importance.

每年约有80000多名儿童患1型糖尿病。如不及时治疗这种自身免疫性疾病会危及生命安全,因此提早发现就显得极为重要。

One of the side effects of diabetes is sweet-smelling breath. Oxford³ University Emeritus⁴ Professor of Chemistry Gus Hancock says it is due to the build-up of chemicals called ketones in the patient’s blood.

糖尿病的副作用之一是呼气发出的甜香味。牛津大学名誉教授化学加斯·汉考克表示这是由于被称为酮的化学物质在病人血液中累积所致。

“And the sweet smell is this particular ketone that is given out; it's called acetone. And doctors have regularly smelled acetone on the breath of patients who are in a state of diabetic ketoacidosis and used it as a diagnostic,” says Hancock.

“甜香味尤其是这种酮所散发出，它的学名是丙酮。而医生经常通过闻酮症酸中毒糖尿病患者呼吸中的丙酮作为诊断方法。”

British researchers say they have developed a portable breath analyzer that can detect even a very small amount of acetone in the patient’s breath.

英国研究人员表示已经研制出一种便携式呼吸分析仪,可以检测出病人呼吸中极为少量的丙酮。

Not an easy task

CEO of Oxford Medical Diagnostics, Ian Campbell, says it was not an easy task, because breath contains molecules⁵ of millions of compounds while this test requires detecting only one of them.

牛津医学诊断首席执行官伊安·坎贝尔表示分析仪的研发绝非易事,因为普通人的呼吸包含数以百万计的分子化合物,而测试只需检测其中之一。

“So, what we do is allow the subject to blow into the device, we extract out the volatile⁶ organic compound we wish to measure, in this case acetone. The remainder of the breath passes through the device. We then release the molecules that we're interested in into the cavity to make the measurement,” says Campbell.

“因此我们做的就是允许检测目标进入设备,然后我们回提取希望测量的挥发性有机化合物,在这种测试下是丙酮。而其余部分也会通过这个设备。然后我们释放我们感兴趣的分子进入腔内进行测量。”

Professor Hancock, who collaborated⁷ in the development of the device, says similar analyzers exist but only as desktop-sized heavy boxes.

合作开发这款设备的汉考克教授表示也有类似的分析检测仪,但目前阶段只能使用桌面式的沉重大箱子。

“The aim that we have is to get this into a hand-held device… that somebody can pick up and use by blowing simply through a mouth-piece,” says Hancock.

“我们的目标是手持设备…人们随时拿出来简简单单通过进棉口吹气就可以检测。”

Researchers say the new analyzer should be ready for doctors’ offices within a year, while even smaller versions for individual use may be available later.

研究人员表示医生们应该在一年之内就能用上这种新型分析仪,而供个人使用更小的版本可能会晚些时候推出。

But they point out the breath analyzer should be seen only as a first screening, and a diagnosis⁸ must be confirmed by a proper blood test.

但他们指出这种呼吸分析仪应仅视为第一道检测程序,而后必须通过适当血液测试才能得出诊断结论。

1 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。

2 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

3 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

4 emeritus   

adj.名誉退休的

参考例句：

• "Perhaps I can introduce Mr.Lake Kirby,an emeritus professor from Washington University?"请允许我介绍华盛顿大学名誉教授莱克柯尔比先生。
• He will continue as chairman emeritus.他将会继续担任荣誉主席。

5 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

6 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

7 collaborated   

合作( collaborate的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• We have collaborated on many projects over the years. 这些年来我们合作搞了许多项目。
• We have collaborated closely with the university on this project. 我们与大学在这个专案上紧密合作。

8 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。