VOA慢速英语2014 能治愈眼疾的细针

 

Tiny Needles Treat Eye Disease 能治愈眼疾的细针

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness around the world. In the United States alone, more than two million people suffer from the disease.

Glaucoma results from an over-production of fluid in the eye. The buildup of fluid causes uncomfortable pressure in the eye socket¹, which can lead to blindness.

Glaucoma can be controlled with eye drops that either reduce the fluid, increase the flow of tears from the eye or both. But studies show only 56 percent of patients use the drops every day. If doctors need to inject medicine into the eye for other conditions, they generally use a hypodermic needle. But that can cause a painful or uneasy feeling in some patients.

Now, researchers are developing very small needles that may offer a more effective and painless treatment for glaucoma and other eye diseases. The needles are only about point-four to point-seven millimeters long. These instruments, called microneedles, can put medication into the front of the eye, exactly where it is needed. Its developers say injections of time-release drugs every three to six months could replace daily glaucoma eye drops.

Mark Prausnitz is director of the Center for Drug Design, Development and Delivery at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He helped develop the microneedles in a joint² project with researchers at Emory University. He says the tiny needles are a better way to deliver medicine than an eye dropper.

“What the microneedle enables is a very targeted delivery, to put the drug just in the spot where it needs to be within the eye so that the drug is as effective and potent³ as possible where the drug needs to act. And the drug doesn’t go to other places in the eye where it can cause side effects.”

Being able to target the drug means that less medicine is needed. The microneedles are either hollow or empty, like a normal hypodermic needle, or covered with a drug which breaks down in the eye.

Researchers tested the treatment on mice. Mark Prausnitz says the microneedles were successful in treating both glaucoma and the growth of unwanted blood vessels⁵ around the cornea. The condition is called corneal neovascularization.

“One was a glaucoma drug where we were able to control the pressure inside of the eye. The other was a drug that stops blood vessel⁴ growth.  And so when there was abnormal blood vessel growth going into the cornea due to an injury, we were able to administer that drug and suppress the blood vessel growth.”

Dr. Prausnitz says some people may find the microneedles uncomfortable despite their size. But he says an anesthetic⁶ drug could be used so that a patient does not feel any pain.

The solid needle for treatment of glaucoma is still being tested.

A report on the needle technology was published in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.

Words in This Story

anesthetic – n. a drug that causes a person to lose feeling and to feel no pain in part or all of the body

cornea – n. the clear outer covering of the eyeball

fluid – n. any substance that can flow, such as a liquid

hypodermic needle - n. a thin, hollow needle used for giving people injections

socket – n. a hollow part in a bone that holds an eye, a tooth, or another bone

1 socket   

n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口

参考例句：

• He put the electric plug into the socket.他把电插头插入插座。
• The battery charger plugs into any mains socket.这个电池充电器可以插入任何类型的电源插座。

2 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。

3 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

4 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

5 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 anesthetic   

n.麻醉剂，麻药；adj.麻醉的，失去知觉的

参考例句：

• He was given a general anesthetic.他被全身麻醉。
• He was still under the influence of the anesthetic.他仍处在麻醉状态。