美国国家公共电台 NPR Do DIY Medical Tests Promise More Than They Can Deliver?

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

A growing number of startups are trying to drive a revolution in lab testing. You can buy a test to check your thyroid, sleep hormones¹ or even vitamin deficiencies from the privacy of your own home. But these online ventures may be promising² more than they can deliver. Lesley McClurg from member station KQED in San Francisco explains.

LESLEY MCCLURG, BYLINE³: Last year, Regina Du took a home test that she says changed her life.

REGINA DU: How much better would I have felt these last eight years had I done this earlier?

MCCLURG: She used to suffer daily from stomach aches, crippling headaches and rashes.

DU: I would just, like, uncontrollably scratch myself because I was so itchy.

MCCLURG: Doctors could not figure out what was wrong, so Du poked⁴ around online and found a food sensitivity test for a couple hundred bucks⁵ from a company called EverlyWell. Here's the company's CEO, Julia Cheek.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JULIA CHEEK: Collect your sample at your convenience at home, and send it back to one of our certified⁶ and accurate partner labs.

(SOUNDBITE OF PACKAGE RIPPING)

MCCLURG: Du pricked⁷ her finger and sent off a few drops of blood in less than 20 minutes. She did it on her lunch break at her job in San Francisco. A few days later, she got an email listing foods to avoid.

DU: Gluten, malt, cheese, anything dairy - and green beans.

MCCLURG: And it seems to have worked. Since Du cut these foods, all of her symptoms have disappeared. The test was supposed to measure how her immune system reacted to certain foods by making an antibody called IgG. The idea is a high level of IgG correlates to symptoms like headaches, and bloating or joint⁸ pain. The problem is, there's very little science to back this up, and the test has not been approved by the FDA. Neha Shah, an immunologist at Stanford University, is very skeptical⁹.

NEHA SHAH: I personally do not rely on these IgG tests because I don't think they've been validated¹¹.

MCCLURG: The professional association of allergists agrees. The organization does not recommend food sensitivity testing. Shah shares the story of her sister, who bought a test and then was told to avoid swordfish.

SHAH: We've been vegetarian¹² all our lives, and there was really no reason why she should've had a high sensitivity, a high IgG level against swordfish.

MCCLURG: But EverlyWell stands by their products as an empowering first step for patients. Marra Francis is the company's executive medical director.

MARRA FRANCIS: A lot of times, this testing can be a bridge between vague symptoms and an actual plan that you create with your provider.

MCCLURG: The company markets 22 other home tests. You can check cholesterol¹³, metabolism¹⁴, testosterone. And you can get a similar lineup from Internet ventures like LetsGetChecked and Thorne, but most of these home test kits¹⁵ are not regulated by the FDA. Norman Paradis is a physician at Dartmouth College. He worries about this growing market.

NORMAN PARADIS: A lot of this kind of hucksterist (ph) testing is keying off of the placebo¹⁶ effect.

MCCLURG: In other words, just believing a test is valid¹⁰ and taking action on it may make you feel better. He's also worried that home tests could cause patients to overreact to test results by, say, taking a vitamin in toxic¹⁷ doses or seeking medical care they don't need.

PARADIS: For instance, let's say a test inaccurately¹⁸ said, you may have colon¹⁹ cancer, and then you went and got a colonoscopy and were injured during the colonoscopy. Well, the test actually created that harm.

MCCLURG: Paradis says patients shouldn't try to test their way to better health. If you want to feel better, he suggests starting with the basics - change your diet, set a regular sleep schedule, get some exercise. For NPR News, I'm Lesley McClurg in San Francisco.

(SOUNDBITE OF GEOTIC'S "VAULTED CEILING, PAINTED SKY")

1 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

2 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

7 pricked   

刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

8 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。

9 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

10 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

11 validated   

v.证实( validate的过去式和过去分词 )；确证；使生效；使有法律效力

参考例句：

• Time validated our suspicion. 时间证实了我们的怀疑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The decade of history since 1927 had richly validated their thesis. 1927年以来的十年的历史，充分证明了他们的论点。 来自辞典例句

12 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

13 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

14 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。

15 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

16 placebo   

n.安慰剂；宽慰话

参考例句：

• The placebo has been found to work with a lot of different cases.人们已发现安慰剂能在很多不同的病例中发挥作用。
• The placebo effect refers to all the observable behaviors caused by placebo.安慰剂效应是指由安慰剂所引起的可观察的行为。

17 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

18 inaccurately   

不精密地，不准确地

参考例句：

• The money mechanism began to work stiffly and inaccurately. 贷币机构开始周转不灵和不准确了。
• Court records reveal every day how inaccurately "eyewitnesses'see. 法庭记录每天都显露出“见证人”看得多不准确。

19 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。