Pregnant Women Warned About ACE Inhibitor

　　1. Some of the most commonly used medicines for high blood pressure are drugs called ACE inhibitors. Doctors have given these drugs to patients for twenty-five years. A government study in the United States found that the use almost doubled between 1995 and 2000.

　　2. Doctors have known for years that women should not take ACE inhibitors during the last six months of pregnancy. The medicine can injure the baby. ACE inhibitors, though, have been considered safe when taken during the first three months. But a New study has found that women who take these drugs early in their pregnancy still increase the risk of birth disorders2. The study shows that, compared to others, their babies were almost three times as likely to be born with major problems.3 These included problems with the formation of the brain and nervous system and holes in the heart.

　　3. The researchers say they found no increased risk in women who took other blood pressure medicines during the first three months. Researchers at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and Boston University did the study. The New England Journal of Medicine4 published the results. The researchers studied the records of almost thirty thousand births between 1985 and 2000. Two hundred nine babies were born to women who took ACE inhibitors during the first three months of their pregnancies. Eighteen of the babies, or almost nine percent, had major disorders.

　　4. ACE inhibitors are often given to patients with diabetes. But diabetes during pregnancy can result in birth defects. So the study did not include any women known to be diabetic5. ACE inhibitors suppress a protein called angiotensin-converting enzyme, or ACE. This enzyme produces a chemical in the body that makes blood passages narrow. The drugs increase the flow of blood so pressure is reduced.

　　5. New drugs are tested on pregnant animals to see if they might cause birth defects in humans. But experts say these tests are not always dependable. The United States Food and Drug Administration6 helped pay for the study. The F. D. A. says women who might become pregnant should talk with their doctor about other ways to treat high blood pressure.

　　練習：

　　1.Paragraph 2 ____________

　　2.Paragraph 3 ____________

　　3.Paragraph 4 ____________

　　4.Paragraph 5 ____________

　　A Effects of ACE and ACE Inhibitors

　　B Wide Use of ACE Inhibitors

　　C How to Deal with High Blood Pressure in Pregnant Women

　　D Damage to Pregnant Women's Future Babies

　　E Suggestions on Stopping the Use of ACE Inhibitors

　　F F. Relative Safe for Women During the First Three Months of Pregnancies

　　5.FDA. suggests that pregnant women with high blood pressure should consult ____________.

　　6.ACE inhibitors are not recommended ____________.

　　7.Evidence showed only a small percentage of babies suffered major disorders ____________.

　　8.ACE is a risk factor to our body ____________.

　　A that may cause our blood vessels to become more and more narrow

　　B for pregnant women to take during their last six months of pregnancies

　　C that their likelihood to suffer major problems is two times higher than other babies

　　D with their doctors about how to treat their problems

　　E because diabetes during pregnancy may sometimes lead to birth defects

　　F F. though their mothers took ACE inhibitors during their first three months of pregnancies

　　答案與題解：

　　1.D　第二段說的是孕婦在孕期最后六個月服用ACE抑制劑會給未來嬰兒帶來傷害,嬰兒患大病的可能性幾乎是其他嬰兒的三倍,包括大腦和神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)發(fā)育缺陷及心臟出現(xiàn)空洞等。

　　2.F　第三段說患高血壓的孕婦在孕期頭三個月服用其他降壓藥,她們的危險性并沒有增加；即使服用ACE抑制劑,其嬰兒也只有大約9%患大病。故妊娠期前三個月相對安全。

　　3.A　第四段說，ACE抑制劑可以抑制一種叫ACE的蛋白質，ACE可以使血管變窄，而ACE 抑制劑則可增加血流使血壓下降。

　　4.C　第五段說，雖然目前正在妊娠動物上試驗新藥，但其結果也不一定可靠，因此患高血壓的妊娠婦女還是要去咨詢醫(yī)生。

　　5.D　本題答案在文章的最后一句。talk with與consult with的意思相同,都是“咨詢、商量”的意思。

　　6.B　第二段第一句說，多年來醫(yī)生已經(jīng)知道,婦女在妊娠的后六個月不應該服用ACE抑制劑。

　　7.F　第三段后半部說，研究人員研究了大約30,000個嬰兒，其中209個嬰兒的母親在妊娠的前三個月服用過ACE抑制劑，但只有18個嬰兒患有大病，大約占9%。

　　8.A　本題答案在第四段倒數(shù)第二句，該句說，這種酶(即ACE)可使血管變窄。