美国国家公共电台 NPR How One Boy's Fight With Epilepsy Led To The First Marijuana-Derived Pharmaceutical

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

The first medication derived¹ from marijuana could be in pharmacies² as early as this fall. The FDA recently approved it to treat two rare types of epilepsy. KQED's Lesley McClurg has the story of one family's quest to get this drug.

LESLEY MCCLURG, BYLINE³: Evelyn Nussembaum used to watch her son Sam suffer through 100 seizures⁵ a day.

EVELYN NUSSEMBAUM: When they were bad, they were once every three minutes.

MCCLURG: Sam was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 4 years old.

SAM VOGELSTEIN: When I did have a seizure⁴, I would sort of - everything went black kind of.

MCCLURG: For about 20 seconds - just long enough to tumble down a flight of stairs at his house in Berkeley, plunge⁶ into a dinner plate, crack his head on a window.

VOGELSTEIN: I don't remember a lot of it really.

MCCLURG: Doctors tried nearly two dozen different medications to treat Sam. Nothing worked long term. And the side effects from many were severe - full-body rashes, fits of rage, strange visuals.

VOGELSTEIN: I hallucinated that my bug⁷ sheets came to life and that I had holes in my body.

MCCLURG: Seven exhausting years passed. And then Evelyn came across a study using cannabidiol, or CBD, to successfully treat seizures in rats. CBD is an extract from the cannabis plant that doesn't make you high.

NUSSEMBAUM: And I thought my son needs access to that. I got to get this.

MCCLURG: She dug around and found a British pharmaceutical⁸ company that was making highly concentrated CBD for multiple sclerosis patients. The company agreed to let Sam try the drug in the U.K. under a doctor's supervision⁹ for two weeks.

NUSSEMBAUM: After one day, his seizures were down to 30. After two days, they were down to 10. After three days, he had one seizure.

MCCLURG: Sam is now 17. The drug still works. And he doesn't have any side effects. For the past six years, the FDA has allowed what's called a compassionate¹⁰ use for Sam. Along the way, hundreds of other patients have tried the drug in clinical trials, which eventually led to its recent FDA approval. The brand name for the CBD drug is Epidiolex.

JOE SIRVEN: This is what everyone asked about.

MCCLURG: Dr. Joe Sirven is a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

SIRVEN: This almost had like instant name recognition.

MCCLURG: He says his patients read about Epidiolex studies on social media, and then they begged to try it.

SIRVEN: It showed really, really great results - particularly with certain larger seizures, the big convulsions.

MCCLURG: Now, many patients are using CBD from marijuana dispensaries. But these aren't regulated, and the dose and consistency¹¹ can vary widely. Still, Sirven doesn't necessarily recommend switching.

SIRVEN: I would never change it if it's working for you. If it's not though, here's an option.

MCCLURG: Epidiolex isn't right for everyone. It only reduces seizures in about 30 percent of epilepsy patients. And the drug can cause side effects - like fatigue¹², nausea¹³, diarrhea, rashes, insomnia¹⁴. And it's not on the market just yet. First, the Drug Enforcement Administration needs to reclassify CBD. It's currently a Schedule I drug, meaning it's illegal under federal law. That's expected to happen by early fall.

NUSSEMBAUM: So once that's done, it could potentially be in Walgreens or Rite¹⁵ Aid. But there are still big holes - there are big gaps in this.

MCCLURG: The price has not been announced yet. You will need a prescription¹⁶. And Nussenbaum worries some insurance companies may not cover Epidiolex.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: So it looks like we got an order for 10 bottles here.

MCCLURG: For now, Sam still gets his drugs at the investigational¹⁷ pharmacy¹⁸ at UC San Francisco.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: All right. And if I could have you sign there for me please.

NUSSEMBAUM: One more time, OK.

MCCLURG: Some day Sam hopes he's the one prescribing Epidiolex.

VOGELSTEIN: I want to be an epilepsy doctor.

MCCLURG: First, the 17-year-old is going to get his driver's license¹⁹. He was just cleared to get behind the wheel. He hasn't had a seizure in more than two years. For NPR News, I'm Lesley McClurg in San Francisco.

1 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 pharmacies   

药店

参考例句：

• Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
• Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店，和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网

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 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

5 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

6 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

7 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

8 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

9 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

10 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

11 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。

12 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

13 nausea   

n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶)

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕期常有恶心的现象。
• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。

14 insomnia   

n.失眠，失眠症

参考例句：

• Worries and tenseness can lead to insomnia.忧虑和紧张会导致失眠。
• He is suffering from insomnia.他患失眠症。

15 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

16 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

17 investigational   

[医]调查研究的

参考例句：

• Investigational New Drug Application (IND) for the compound. 为化合物的研究中的新药物申请(IND)。
• He said it representsan investigational H.I. 一位博士说：我们已经向成功迈出了重要的一步。

18 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

19 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。