2007年VOA标准英语-Stem Cell Therapy Promising for Type 1 Diabetes

By Carol Pearson
Washington
16 April 2007
 
Watch Diabetes¹ report

Type 1 diabetes can affect anyone but it usually starts in people younger than 30.  It is a lifelong disease, and there is no cure.  But doctors recently tested a stem cell therapy that appears to eliminate the need for insulin or any other medication for long periods of time.  VOA's Carol Pearson has more.

With type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. Insulin takes sugar, or glucose², from the blood to the cells. 

Too much or too little insulin can lead to life threatening conditions or even death.

 
Kim Black has type 1 diabetes
Fifteen-year-old Kim Black has had type 1 diabetes for the past ten years.  She life with the disease, "I don't even know what it's like to live without type one diabetes.

For Kim and other diabetics there is no freedom from monitoring food intake³ and insulin levels.

Kim has an insulin pump implanted in her side that gives her the life-saving medication she needs to survive.  "It's got a little tube and I press the buttons to give myself insulin whenever I'm high -- my blood sugar is high -- or I eat something, and I do that about five times a day or more."

A report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association says a stem cell transplant has freed some type 1 diabetes patients from needing insulin medication.

 
Dr. Richard Burt
Dr. Richard Burt of Northwestern University near Chicago designed the study that took place in Brazil. "These are not embryonic⁴ stem cells.  These are your own circulating blood stem cells from the patient themselves."

After doctors harvested the patients' own stem cells, they received high doses of chemotherapy to suppress their immune systems. In type 1 diabetes, the immune system malfunctions⁵ and attacks cells that produce insulin. After the chemotherapy, the patients had their own stem cells transfused⁶ back into their bodies. Fourteen of the 15 participants were then able to produce their own insulin again. 

"This is the first time in the history of diabetes that patients have gone an interval⁷, an interval up to three years, and perhaps longer...only time will tell...requiring no treatment, no insulin, no immune suppression, no medications at all" Dr. Burt said.

Doctors hope this stem-cell based therapy will be able to help large numbers of people with type one diabetes, as well as those with other immune system disorders⁸ such as rheumatoid arthritis⁹ and multiple sclerosis.

Video courtesy of The Journal Of The American Medical Association

1 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

2 glucose   

n.葡萄糖

参考例句：

• I gave him an extra dose of glucose to pep him up.我给他多注射了一剂葡萄糖以增强他的活力。
• The doctor injected glucose into his patient's veins.医生将葡萄糖注入病人的静脉。

3 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

4 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。

5 malfunctions   

n.故障，功能障碍（malfunction的复数形式）vi.失灵（malfunction的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• The mood of defeat was as pervasive as the odor of malfunctions and decay. 失败的情绪就象损坏腐烂的臭味一样弥漫全艇。 来自辞典例句
• Possibility of engine malfunctions due to moisture, are lessened. 发动机故障的可能性，由于水分，也将减少。 来自互联网

6 transfused   

v.输（血或别的液体）( transfuse的过去式和过去分词 )；渗透；使…被灌输或传达

参考例句：

• He transfused his own courage into his men. 他用自己的勇气鼓舞了士兵。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The professor transfused his enthusiasm for research into his students. 教授把自己的研究热忱移注给学生。 来自辞典例句

7 interval   

n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息

参考例句：

• The interval between the two trees measures 40 feet.这两棵树的间隔是40英尺。
• There was a long interval before he anwsered the telephone.隔了好久他才回了电话。

8 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 arthritis   

n.关节炎

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
• He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎，在医院住了三个月。