VOA健康报道2023--Experts Say a Common Cold Medicine is Ineffective

American government experts who studied a popular medicine used for colds say the drug is likely not effective and should not be taken by mouth.

Sixteen experts for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration examined the drug phenylephrine. The drug is in many medicines that treat nasal congestion¹, a condition also known as a stuffy² nose. The medicines include Sudafed, Allegra and Dayquil among others.

The experts read a scientific review released by the FDA before they met. The scientific study said there were many mistakes in earlier tests of phenylephrine's effectiveness. It said the FDA no longer accepted the earlier testing results.

One of the experts was Dr. Mark Dykewicz. He is an allergy³ specialist at Saint⁴ Louis University School of Medicine. Dykewicz said, "Modern studies, when well conducted, are not showing any improvement in congestion with phenylephrine."

Phenylephrine is an over-the-counter drug. Anyone can buy it at a store. A doctor's order is not required to purchase it. Phenylephrine is the most popular decongestant in a market valued at $2.2 billion dollars.

If the FDA follows the advice of the experts, companies that make the medicine will have to remove it from stores. These companies include Johnson & Johnson, Bayer and other leading drug makers⁵.

The drug would remain in medicines taken through the nose, however. The nasal spray form of phenylephrine is considered effective and there are no plans to review it.

But offering higher amounts of the drug by mouth is not possible because it can increase blood pressure to dangerous levels.

Researchers at the University of Florida first requested that the FDA remove phenylephrine from a list of approved drugs. The same researchers questioned the drug's effectiveness in 2007. They said they found no difference between using the drug and using an inactive substance called a placebo⁶.

Phenylephrine has been sold in different forms for 75 years. Dr. Theresa Michele leads the FDA's office of nonprescription drugs. She said, "Any time a product has been on the market that long, it's human nature to make assumptions⁸ about what we know about the product."

The FDA reviewers said the studies they examined showed how quickly the body processes phenylephrine. The research shows that too little of the drug reaches the area of the nose when the medicine is taken by mouth. Forms of the drug sprayed into the nose appear more effective.

The reviewers said barring the drug from medicine taken by mouth would avoid the "unnecessary costs and delay in care of taking a drug that has no benefit.

The FDA has not updated its list of approved drugs to treat nasal congestion since 1995. The process for changing the list takes years. But Congress passed a law in 2020 that would speed the process for drugs that do not require a doctor's permission to use.

Words in This Story

congestion –n. (medical) blocked with fluid

pharmacist –n. a person whose job it is to prepare and sell drugs that doctors order for their patients

spray –n. liquid that is forced out of a container in very small drops

assumption⁷ –n. something that a person thinks is true but of which they have no proof

no benefit –phrase something that does not have a useful or good result

1 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

2 stuffy   

adj.不透气的，闷热的

参考例句：

• It's really hot and stuffy in here.这里实在太热太闷了。
• It was so stuffy in the tent that we could sense the air was heavy with moisture.帐篷里很闷热，我们感到空气都是潮的。

3 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。

4 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

5 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 assumption   

n.假定，臆断，担任，承担

参考例句：

• We mistook assumption that the price would fall.我们错误地认为价格会下降。
• I would question the validity of that assumption.我会质疑那个假设的正当性。

8 assumptions   

假定，臆断( assumption的名词复数 )； （责任的）承担； （他人债务的）承继； [the A-][基督教]1)。 圣母升天

参考例句：

• Their reasoning was based on a set of unstated assumptions. 他们的推理是以一系列未说明的假定为基础的。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions. 你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。