双语新闻：不做大型手术也能治愈肺病

2014-05-06 13:45:11来源：可可英语

　　More than two dozen U.S. medical centers are currently testing a technique that places metal coils into the lung using special scopes inserted through the mouth or nose. Once in place, the coils compress the diseased tissue and allow the healthier parts of the lung to breathe more freely. Other hospitals are investigating a small-umbrella shaped valve that redirects air from less healthy to more healthy parts of the lung.

　　目前，美国有20多个医疗中心都在测试一种新技术：将特殊的内窥镜通过口腔或鼻腔伸进人的体内，然后用它将金属线圈植入肺部。一切就位以后，金属线圈就会挤压病变组织，让肺上相对健康的部位更自由地呼吸。其他医院也在研究一种小伞状阀门，它能把空气从肺上那些状况欠佳的部位重新引至更健康的部位。

　　'If successful, we will be able to help a significant number of patients have an improved quality of life, and potentially improve survival in a noninvasive manner,' says Atul C. Mehta, an interventional pulmonologist at Cleveland Clinic, one the centers participating in the coils trial.

　　克利夫兰诊所(Cleveland Clnic) 的介入治疗医师阿图尔·C·梅塔(Atul C. Mehta)说：“如果成功了，我们就能帮助大量患者改善生活质量，而且可能以一种无创伤性的方式提高生存率。”克利夫兰诊所是参与了线?治疗试验的医学中心之一。

　　In Europe, where the coils have been approved for use since 2008, studies have shown the treatment is safe for patients and results in significant improvements in pulmonary function, exercise capacity and quality of life. Current U.S. research is being funded by PneumRx Inc., the Mountainview, Calif., maker of the coils. While smokers can prevent COPD by quitting before it develops, once the lungs are damaged it isn't reversible. Most patients are managed with the use of inhaled medications called bronchodilators, oxygen and pulmonary rehabilitation.

　　在欧洲，这种线圈从2008年起就已经获批投入使用。欧洲的一些研究已显示，这种疗法对病人来说很安全，而且能显著改善肺机能、运动能力与生活质量。目前，美国的研究是由加州山景城(Mountainview, Calif.)的RneumRx Inc.公司资助的，该公司是所用线圈的制造商。虽然吸烟者可以在慢性阻塞性肺疾病形成前戒烟来进行预防，但一旦肺部受损，那病情就无法逆转了。大多数患者都是靠使用名为支气管扩张剂的吸入性药物、用氧和肺康复疗法来维持的。

　　Mary Morgan, a nurse who lives in Parma, Ohio, was diagnosed seven years ago with emphysema, a form of COPD. Still, she continued to smoke for a few more years because the disease 'wasn't bothering me,' she says. Two years ago, the 55-year-old came down with pneumonia and had to call 911 because she couldn't breathe. She quit smoking but needed to be on oxygen all the time. She gasped for breath often and wasn't able to speak more than a few words at a time. 'It gets to the point where you are living in such misery that you just don't want to go on,' Ms. Morgan says.

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