Disease I Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention

    Disease may be defined as the abnormal state in which part or all of the body is not properly adjusted or is not capable of carrying on¹ all its required functions. There are marked variations in the extent of the disease and in its effect on the person.

    In order to treat a disease, the doctor obviously must first determine the nature of the illness —that is, make a diagnosis². A diagnosis is the conclusion drawn from a number of facts put together. The doctor must know the symptoms, which are the changes in body function felt by the patient; and the signs (also called objective symptoms) which the doctor himself can observe. Sometimes a characteristic group of signs (or symptoms) accompanied a given disease. Such a group is called a syndrome. Frequently certain laboratory tests are performed and the results evaluated³ by the physician in making his diagnosis.

     Although nurses do not diagnose, they play an extremely valuable role in this process by observing closely for signs, encouraging the patient to talk about himself and his symptoms, and then reporting this information to the doctor. Once the patient’s disorder is known, the doctor prescribes a course of treatment, also referred to as therapy⁴. Many measures in this course of treatment are carried out by the nurse under the physician’s orders.

    In recent years physicians, nurses and other health workers have taken on increasing responsibilities in prevention⁵. Throughout most of medical history, the physician’s aim has been to cure a patient of an existing disease⁶. However, the modern concept of prevention seeks to stop disease before it actually happens — to keep people well through the promotion of health. A vast number of organizations exist for this purpose, ranging from the World Health Organization (WHO) on an international level down to local private and community health programs⁷. A rapidly growing responsibility of the nursing profession is educating individual patients toward the maintenance of total health — physical and mental.

词汇：

marked / mɑ:kt/  adj.显着的 

syndrome /"sɪndrəʊm/ n. 综合征，症候群
symptom /"sɪmptəm/ n.症候，症状 

therapy /"θerəpɪ/ n.疗法，治疗 

sign /saɪn/ n. 病体；体征

注释：

1.carry sth. on：继续；进行；维持下去
2.make a diagnosis：做出诊断
3....the results evaluated…：此句中在evaluated之前省略了与前面are performed相同的助动词are。
4.also referred to as therapy：也被称为疗法（过去分词短语作a course of treatment的定语）refer to...：谈及，提及refer to sth. /sb. as...：把……称为……例如：Don’t refer to the matter again.不要再提这件事了。We refer to such a science as physiology.我们把这样一门科学称为生理学。
Don’t refer to your brother as a silly cow.不要把你兄弟说成是头笨牛。
5.have taken on increasing responsibilities in prevention：在预防方面承担越来越多的责任take sth. on：承担，接受You have taken on too much.你承担的工作太多了。
6.to cure a patient of an existing disease：治疗病人的现有疾病cure sb. of...：给某人治疗（或治愈）某病 例如：This medicine should cure you of your cold.此药准能治好你的感冒。
7.ranging from... health programs：从国际这一级的世界卫生组织一直到下面地区的私人和社区医疗机构（现在分词短语作状语）range from... to...：从……到……的范围（分布或变动）The children’s ages range from 5 to 15.这些孩子小的5岁，大的15岁。Its prices range from twenty to thirty dollars.价钱从20美元到30美元不等。

Generally speaking, the physician is more willing to treat patients’ physical disease than their mental illness

A:Right B:Wrong C:Not mentioned

Say the word bacteria, and most folks conjure up images of a nasty germ like staphylococcus or salmonella that can make you really sick. But most bacteria aren’t bad for you. In fact, consuming extra amounts of some bacteria can actually promote good health. These beneficial bacteria are available without a prescription in drug and health-food stores and in foods like yogurt. So far, the best results have been seen in the treatment of diarrhea, particularly in children. But re searchers are also looking into the possibility that beneficial bacteria may thwart vaginal infections in women, prevent some food allergies in children and lessen symptoms of Crohn’s disease, a relatively rare but painful gastrointestinal disorder.
So where have these good germs been lurking all your life In your intestines, especially the lower section called the colon, which harbors at least 400 species of bacteria. Which ones you have depends largely on your environment and diet. An abundance of good bacteria in the colon generally crowds out stray bad bacteria in your food. But if the bad outnumber the good—for example, after antibiotic treatment for a sinus or an ear infection, which kills normal intestinal germs as well—the result can be diarrhea.
For generations, people have restored the balance by eating yogurt, buttermilk or other products made from fermented milk. But nowadays, you can also down a few pills that contain freeze-dried germs. These preparations are called probiotics to distinguish them from antibiotics. Unfortunately, you can’t always be sure that the bacteria in the products you buy are the same strains as those listed on the label or even that they’re still alive. Probiotics are usually sensitive to both heat and moisture. Among the most promising and most thoroughly researched probiotics is the GG strain of Laetobacillus, discovered by Dr. Sherwood Gorbach and biochemist Barry Goldin, both at Tufts University School of Medicine. L-GG, as it’s called, has been used to treat traveler’s diarrhea and intestinal upsets caused by antibiotics. Even more intriguing, L- GG also seems to work against some viruses, including rotavirus, one of the most common causes of diarrhea in children in the U. S. and around the world. Here the effect is indirect. Somehow L-GG jump-starts the immune system into recognizing the threat posed by the virus.
Pediatricians at Johns Hopkins are studying a different bug, the Bb-12 strain of Bifidobacterium, which was discovered by researchers at CHR Hansen Biosystems. Like L-GG, Bb-12 stimulates the immune system. For reasons that are not dear, infants who are breast-fed have large amounts of bifidobacteria in their intestines. They also have fewer intestinal upsets. Dr. Jose Saavedra and colleagues at Hopkins have shown that Bb-12 prevents several types of diarrhea, including that caused by r0tavirus, in hospitalized infants as young as four months. It has also been used to cure diarrhea in children of all ages.
It isn’t said in the passage that L-GG can be used to ______.

A:lessen symptoms of Crohn’s disease B:fight against rotavirus C:treat traveler’ s diarrhea D:treat intestinal upsets caused by antibiotics

A study that will cost $ 3.2 billion and last more than two decades to track the health of 100,000 U. S. children from before birth to age 21 will be launched in January, U. S. health officials said on Friday.
Officials from the U. S. government’s National Institutes of Health said they hope the study, to be conducted at 105 locations throughout the United States, can help identify early-life influences that affect later development, with the goal of learning new ways to treat or prevent illness.
The study will examine hereditary(遗传的) and environmental factors such as exposure to certain chemicals that affect health.
Researchers will collect genetic and biological samples from people in the study as well as samples from the homes of the women and their babies including air, water, dust and materials used to construct their residences, the NIH said.
Officials said more than $ 200 million has been spent already and the study is projected to cost $3.2 billion.
"We anticipat that in the long term(从长远来说), what we learn from the study will result in a significant savings in the nation’s health care costs," Dr. Duane Alexander, who heads the NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, told reporters.
The study will begin in January. when the University of North Carolina and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York start signing up(使报名从事) pregnant women whose babies will then be followed to age 21.
Some of the early findings will be ’about factors behind pre-term birth(早产), which has become more common in recent years, according to Dr. Peter Scheidt of the NIH, who heads the study.
The people taking part will be from rural, urban and suburban areas, from all income and educational levels and from all racial groups, the NIH said.
The aim of the study is to find new ways to ______.

A:conduct research B:track public health C:prevent or treat illness D:speed up development

A. study that will cost $3.2 billion and last more than two decades to track the health of 100,000 U. S. children from before birth to age 21 will be launched in January, U. S. health officials said on Friday.
Officials from the U. S. government’s National Institutes of Health said they hope the study, to be conducted at 105 locations throughout the United States, can help identify early-life influences that affect later development, with the goal of learning new ways to treat or prevent illness.
The study will examine hereditary and environmental factors such as exposure to certain chemicals that affect health.
Researchers will collect genetic and biological samples from people in the study as well as samples from the homes of the women and their babies including air, water, dust and materials used to construct their residences, the NIH said.
Officials said more than $200 million has been spent already and the study is projected to cost $3.2 billion.
"We anticipate that in the long term, what we learn from the study will result in a significant savings in the nation’s health care costs, " Dr. Duane Alexander, who heads the NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, told reporters.
The study will begin in January when the University of North Carolina and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York start signing up pregnant women whose babies will then be followed to age 21.
Some of the early findings will be about factors behind pre-term birth, which has become more common in recent years, according to Dr. Peter Scheidt of the NIH, who heads the study.
The people taking part will be from rural, urban and suburban areas, from all income and educational levels and from all racial groups, the NIH said.
The aim of the study is to find new ways to ______.

A:conduct research B:track public health C:prevent or treat illness D:speed up development

? ?"A study that will cost $ 3.2 billion and last more than two decades to track the health of 100,000 U. S. children from before birth to age 21 will be launched in January. " U. S. health officials said on Friday.
? ?Officials from the U. S. government’s National Institutes of Health said they hope the study, to be conducted at 105 locations throughout the United States, can help identify early-life influences that affect later development, with the goal of learning new ways to treat or prevent illness.
? ?The study will examine hereditary and environmental factors such as exposure to certain chemicals that affect health.
? ?Researchers will collect genetic and biological samples from people in the study as well as samples from the homes of the women and their babies including air, water, dust and materials used to construct their residences, the NIH said.
? ?Officials said more than $ 200 million has been spent already and the study is projected to cost $ 3.2 billion.
? ?"We anticipate that in the long term , what we learn from the study will result in a significant savings in the nation’s health care costs. " Dr. Duane Alexander, who heads the NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, told reporters.
? ?The study will begin in January when the University of North Carolina and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York start signing up pregnant women whose babies will then be followed to age 21.
? ?Some of the early findings will be about factors behind pre-term birth, which has become more common in recent years, according to Dr. Peter Scheidt of the NIH, who heads the study.
? ?The people taking part will be from rural, urban and suburban areas, from all income and educational levels and from all racial groups, the NIH said.

The aim of the study is to find new ways to ______.

A:conduct research B:track public health C:prevent or treat illness D:speed up development

American officials have announced rules to help prevent people from getting sick from the medicines they take.
The rules require the medicines Americans use most to have information that is easy to read and understand. The officials say the new system will help people make more informed decisions about the drugs they use.
More and more people use medicines known as over-the counter drugs to treat common health problems. Americans buy 5’, 000,000,000 such products each year.
About 100,000 over-the-counter drugs can be purchased in the United States without orders from a doctor. Many people decide on their own which drug to take, how to take it, and if it should be given to their children. Over-the-counter drugs are generally very safe. However, using them the wrong way can be dangerous. Officials say hospitals in the United States treat 170,000 people each year because the drugs make them sick.
Studies estimate that half of these hospital visits could be prevented if Americans were better educated about the products.
The Food and Drug Administration proposed the new rules two years ago. FDA officials say they worked with the drug industry and public interest groups to develop the requirements. The agency also received almost 2,000 public comments about the proposals.
The new information should make it easier for people to identify active chemicals used in a medicine. This information will be listed at the top of the product container. The label also will list uses of the drug, warnings, and directions. Chemicals in the drug which are not active also will be listed. The reason for this is to let Americans select products that will not make them sick.
Over-the-counter drugs are the medicines ______.

A:that treat common health problems B:that have warnings at the top of their containers C:that have a list of directions D:that can be bought in a shop without doctor’s orders

? ?阅读下面的短文，文中有15处空白，每处空白给出了4个选项，请根据短文的内容从4个选项中选择1个最佳答案。

A:attach B:treat C:act D:watch

{{B}}第三篇{{/B}}

The aim of the study is to find new ways to

A:conduct research. B:track public health. C:prevent or treat illness. D:speed up development.

A study that will cost $3.2 billion and last more than two decades to track the health of 100,000 U.S. children from before birth to age 21 will be launched in January, U.S. health officials said on Friday.
Officials from the U. S. government’s National Institutes of Health said they hope the study, to be conducted at 105 locations throughout the United States, can help identify early-life influences that affect later development, with the goal of learning new ways to treat or prevent illness.
The study will examine hereditary and environmental factors such as exposure to certain chemicals that affect health.
Researchers will collect genetic and biological samples from people in the study as well as samples from the homes of the women and their babies including air, water, dust and materials used to construct their residences, the NIH said.
Officials said more than $200 million has been spent already and the study is projected to cost $3.2 billion.
"We anticipate that in the long term, what we learn from the study will result in a significant savings in the nation’s health care costs," Dr. Duane Alexander, who heads the NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, told reporters.
The study will begin in January when the University of North Carolina and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York start signing up pregnant women whose babies will then be followed to age 21.
Some of the early findings will be about factors behind pre-term birth, which has become more common in recent years, according to Dr. Peter Scheid of the NIH, who heads the study.
The people taking part will be from rural, urban and suburban areas, from all income and educational levels and from all racial groups, the NIH said.
The aim of the study is to find new ways to ______.

A:conduct research. B:track public health. C:prevent or treat illness. D:speed up development.