美国国家公共电台 NPR Researchers Question Safety, Value Of Untested Stem Cell Treatments

Researchers Question Safety, Value Of Untested Stem Cell Treatments 

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0003:41repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser¹ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: 

First, we explore stem cell treatments. Hundreds of clinics in the United States are using them to treat medical conditions. The questions are whether stem cell treatments work and whether they work safely.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: 

This week, the Food and Drug Administration will start considering how to regulate those clinics. NPR's Rob Stein reports.

ROB STEIN, BYLINE²: If you search the web, you'll find clinics all over the country like this one in Sunrise, Fla. They offer stem cell treatments for all sorts of health problems, from arthritic³ joints⁴ and torn tendons to spinal⁵ cord injuries, multiple sclerosis and stroke.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: At the U.S. Stem Cell Clinic, we're utilizing⁶ what are called adipose⁷ derived⁸ stem cells, or fat-derived stem cells.

STEIN: As this promotional video makes clear, these aren't human embryonic⁹ stem cells, which are controversial because embryos¹⁰ are destroyed to get them. And they're not the type of stem cells that scientists create in the lab.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: These are considered autologous stem cells, which means you're utilizing stem cells from your own body.

STEIN: And, the clinic claims, have amazing healing powers.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: All of these cells have different growth factors and can help to promote healing.

STEIN: And other clinics are using other kinds of stem cells from bone marrow¹¹, blood and even placentas. But there are big questions about all this.

GEORGE DALEY: There's a lot of sketchy¹² stuff going on.

STEIN: George Daley is a stem cell researcher at Harvard. He says stem cells are really promising¹³ and someday could revolutionize medicine by providing healthy cells and tissues for damaged parts of the body. But he says we're still years away from that.

DALEY: You've got clinics springing up, taking a patient's own cells. And practitioners¹⁴ are then injecting these cells into arthritic joints, into spinal cords, into the brain. And there's really no evidence that this is going to work. And in fact, there are major concerns about safety.

STEIN: The procedures could cause life-threatening infections. The cells could turn into tumors or trigger dangerous reactions by patients' immune systems. And these supposed treatments don't come cheap. Paul Knoepfler is a stem cell scientist at the University of California Davis. He estimates there are more than 500 of these clinics treating as many as 100,000 patients a year in the United States.

PAUL KNOEPFLER: We're talking about really big bucks¹⁵ here. The therapies can run anywhere from five to $100,000 a shot.

STEIN: And they're not covered by insurance. Knoepfler thinks the Food and Drug Administration should crack down on these clinics.

KNOEPFLER: The FDA needs to step up its game on this because otherwise, this could continue to grow as an industry. And it's just going to put more and more people at risk.

STEIN: For their part, the stem cell clinics defend what they're doing. Kristin Comella is the chief scientific officer of the Florida clinic we heard about at the beginning of the story. She says they're helping¹⁶ a lot of sick people.

KRISTIN COMELLA: Patients should have access to their own body tissue, in particular for diseases where they have not had much success with traditional medicine. And if they are able to provide and give informed consent to move forward with these treatments, that is their right.

STEIN: Comella acknowledges that two of her clinic's patients suffered detached retinas when they had stem cells injected into their eyes. So the clinic has stopped treating eye conditions. But otherwise, Comella says, they've had no serious problems.

COMELLA: There are always risks, no matter what you're doing. Now, that being said, our group has treated more than 6,000 cases. And we've had very few safety events associated with these treatments.

STEIN: The FDA's first hearing about how best to regulate these stem cell clinics is scheduled for Thursday, followed by another two-day hearing next week. Rob Stein, NPR News.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 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。

3 arthritic   

adj.关节炎的

参考例句：

• Somehow the geriatric Voyager 2, arthritic and partially deaf, managed to reach Neptune. 得了关节炎而且局部变聋、衰老的“旅行者2号”最后总算抵达海王星。 来自百科语句
• Femoral head ostectomy is a surgery performed on severely arthritic dogs. 股骨断截骨术’都是针对关节炎严重的狗狗的手术。 来自互联网

4 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

5 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

6 utilizing   

v.利用，使用( utilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Utilizing an assembler to produce a machine-language program. 用汇编程序产生机器语言的过程。 来自辞典例句
• The study and use of devices utilizing properties of materials near absolute zero in temperature. 对材料在接近绝对零度时的特性进行研究和利用的学科。 来自辞典例句

7 adipose   

adj.脂肪质的，脂肪多的；n.（储于脂肪组织中的）动物脂肪；肥胖

参考例句：

• After I become pouch operation adipose meeting second birth?我做眼袋手术后脂肪会再生吗？
• Adipose tissue as seen in a regular histological section.组织切片可见脂肪组织。

8 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》

9 embryonic   

adj.胚胎的

参考例句：

• It is still in an embryonic stage.它还处于萌芽阶段。
• The plan,as yet,only exists in embryonic form.这个计划迄今为止还只是在酝酿之中。

10 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

11 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。

12 sketchy   

adj.写生的，写生风格的，概略的

参考例句：

• The material he supplied is too sketchy.他提供的材料过于简略。
• Details of what actually happened are still sketchy.对于已发生事实的详细情况知道的仍然有限。

13 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。

14 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

15 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》

16 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。