Day540｜《科学美国人》-了解各种止痛药的风险

　　文/noknow

　　第 540 篇精读笔记部分分享

　　文章来源：

　　《科学美国人》（Scientific American，缩写：Sci Am）是美国的一本科普杂志，始于1845年8月28日。是《自然》（Nature）的姐妹出版物。

　　爱因斯坦曾评价《科学美国人》说：“我很欣赏《科学美国人》，因为它把世界科学更广泛地介绍给了读者。”

　　《科学美国人》是考研英语科普文章的重要来源，在2015年至2020年的阅读来源中排名第四，也是一本很重要的题源外刊。

　　文章标题：

　　Painkiller Risks

　　止疼药的风险

　　文章概要：

　　文章选自《科学美国人》。非甾体抗炎药和乙酰氨基酚逐渐取代阿片类等止痛药。但这些止痛药也并非毫无危险，文章对这两种药物的健康风险进行了分析。毕竟，我们吃进肚子里的所有东西都存在某种风险。

　　文章820词左右，文章生词有点多，推荐大家泛读～

　　本文外刊原文选自《科学美国人》202111期

　　After tens of thousands of overdose deaths and billions of dollars in lawsuits, the medical establishment has gotten the memo on opioids. Instead of prescribing OxyContin or Percocet for acute pain, doctors are increasingly offering patients prescription-level doses of popular painkillers sold over the counter: acetaminophen (Tylenol) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil). Five hundred milligrams (mg) of acetaminophen given with 200 mg of ibuprofen is more effective than opioids for postoperative pain and dental pain, research has shown, and the combo causes fewer side effects, with essentially no risk of addiction. NSAIDs are good even for excruciating kidney stones and minor fractures. And they are safer than and at least as effective as opioids for arthritis pain and lower backaches.

　　第一句After tens of thousands of overdose deaths and billions of dollars in lawsuits, the medical establishment has gotten the memo on opioids.在数万人因用药过量而死，数十亿美元用于诉讼之后，医疗机构拿到了有关阿片类药物的备忘录。

　　overdose /???.v?.d??s/

　　n. too much of a drug taken or given at one time, either intentionally or by acciden （一次用药的）过量，超剂量。eg：a drugs overdose 摄入过量药物

　　memo /?m?m??/

　　n. a short official note to another person in the same company or organization 〔致公司或组织内部另一人的〕公务便条，备忘录。eg：a memo from the managing director to all heads of department 总经理发给所有部门经理的一份备忘录

　　第二句Instead of prescribing OxyContin or Percocet for acute pain, doctors are increasingly offering patients prescription-level doses of popular painkillers sold over the counter: acetaminophen (Tylenol) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil).医生也逐渐向患者提供处方剂量的非处方止痛药：乙酰氨基酚（泰诺）和非类固醇消炎药（非甾体抗炎药），比如布洛芬（ibuprofen）（美林和艾德维尔），而不是开具治疗剧烈疼痛的奥施康定（OxyContin）和扑热息痛（Percocet）。

　　prescribe /pr??skr??b/

　　vt. (of a doctor) to say what medical treatment someone should have （医生）开（药），为…开（药），嘱咐（疗法）。sth be prescribed for sth 某药物是用来治疗某疾病的，eg：The drug is often prescribed for ulcers. 这种药通常是开来治疗溃疡的。

　　acute /??kju?t/

　　·adj. an acute illness or disease quickly becomes very serious 急性的。eg：acute arthritis 急性关节炎

　　·acute另一个常见的意思是：adj. If a bad situation is acute, it causes severe problems or damage. 十分严重的，eg：She felt acute embarrassment at his behaviour. 她对他的行为感到极其尴尬。

　　nonsteroidal /?n?nst??r??d?l/

　　非甾类化合物的，非类固醇的

　　anti-inflammatory

　　adj. 抗炎的、消炎的

　　ibuprofen /?a?bju??pr??fen/

　　n. 布洛芬，异丁苯丙酸（抗炎，镇痛药）

　　第三句Five hundred milligrams (mg) of acetaminophen given with 200 mg of ibuprofen is more effective than opioids for postoperative pain and dental pain, research has shown, and the combo causes fewer side effects, with essentially no risk of addiction.研究表明，对于术后疼痛和牙疼，500毫克的乙酰氨基酚，加上200毫克的布洛芬，会比阿片类药物更有效。这二者混合带来的副作用更少，而且基本没有成瘾风险。

　　combo /?k?mb??/

　　n. a combination of different things 混合物；大杂烩。

　　第四句

　　NSAIDs are good even for excruciating kidney stones and minorfractures.

　　非甾体抗炎药甚至对痛苦难忍的肾结石和轻度骨折也是有好处的。

　　excruciating /?k?skru?.?i.e?.t??/

　　adj. extremely painful 剧烈疼痛的；极痛苦的。eg：an excruciating pain in the lower back 腰部的剧烈疼痛

　　minor /?m??n?/

　　· adj. having little importance, influence, or effect, especially when compared with other things of the same type 较不重要的；次要的；轻微的。eg：a minor operation 小手术

　　· minor还可以作名词，表示：未成年人，eg：He was accused of having sex with a minor. 他被指控与一名未成年人发生性关系。

　　· 作动词表示“辅修”，“主修”用major in，“辅修”用minor in，eg：I minored in Spanish in college. 我在大学副修西班牙语。

　　fracture /?frakt??/

　　n. a crack or broken part in a bone or other hard substance 骨折，骨裂; 裂缝，裂痕。eg：a stress fracture in his left knee 他左膝上的应力性骨折

　　第五句And they are safer than and at least as effective as opioids for arthritis pain and lower backaches.对关节炎疼痛和下背痛而言，它们比阿片类药物更安全，却至少一样有效。

　　arthritis /ɑ??θra?.t?s/

　　n. a serious condition in which a person's joints (= the places where two bones are connected) become painful, swollen, and stiff 关节炎。eg：In later life she was crippled with arthritis. 晚年她因患关节炎而行动不便。

　　After tens of thousands of overdose deaths and billions of dollars in lawsuits, the medical establishment has gotten the memo on opioids. Instead of prescribing OxyContin or Percocet for acute pain, doctors are increasingly offering patients prescription-level doses of popular painkillers sold over the counter: acetaminophen (Tylenol) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil). Five hundred milligrams (mg) of acetaminophen given with 200 mg of ibuprofen is more effective than opioids for postoperative pain and dental pain, research has shown, and the combo causes fewer side effects, with essentially no risk of addiction. NSAIDs are good even for excruciating kidney stones and minor fractures. And they are safer than and at least as effective as opioids for arthritis pain and lower backaches.

　　在数万人因用药过量而死，数十亿美元用于诉讼之后，医疗机构拿到了有关阿片类药物的备忘录。医生也逐渐向患者提供处方剂量的非处方止痛药：乙酰氨基酚（泰诺）和非类固醇消炎药（非甾体抗炎药），比如布洛芬（ibuprofen）（美林和艾德维尔），而不是开具治疗剧烈疼痛的奥施康定（OxyContin）和扑热息痛（Percocet）。研究表明，对于术后疼痛和牙疼，500毫克的乙酰氨基酚，加上200毫克的布洛芬，会比阿片类药物更有效。这二者混合带来的副作用更少，而且基本没有成瘾风险。非甾体抗炎药甚至对痛苦难忍的肾结石和轻度骨折也是有好处的。对关节炎疼痛和下背痛而言，它们比阿片类药物更安全，却至少一样有效。

　　2023，外刊精读训练营，我们继续！