时间:2019-01-03 作者:英语课 分类:2018年VOA慢速英语(九)月


英语课

Scientists Explore How Cannabis May Fight Psychosis


British scientists have found how a substance in the cannabis plant acts in the brain to reduce abnormal 1 activity in patients at risk of psychosis.


Their findings suggest that the substance could be used in a possible treatment for the condition.


Cannabis, also known as marijuana, is illegal to grow, sell or use in many countries. Using powerful forms of cannabis can increase a person’s chances of developing psychosis. But the substance the researchers studied, the chemical cannabidiol, appears to have the opposite effect.


Cannabidiol, or CBD, is non-intoxicating 2. That means it is unlike drugs or alcoholic 3 products, which can affect the user’s judgement or behavior.


CBD is the same cannabis substance that has also been shown to help patients with epilepsy, a disorder 4 of the nervous system. This led to the approval in the United States of a cannabis-based drug, a specially 5 processed form of CBD, in June.


Earlier research at King’s College London had shown that CBD seemed to block the effects of tetrahydrocannabinol, the intoxicating substance in cannabis. But how this happened was a mystery.


Now, King’s College researchers say they have more evidence of the health benefits of CBD.


Sagnik Bhattacharyya and his team gave 33 young people capsules containing the substance. All 33 subjects were experiencing signs of psychosis, although they had not been shown to have the full-blown mental condition.


The researchers studied images from the brains of the young people. They found that taking CBD capsules reduced abnormal activity in three areas of the brain: the striatum, medial temporal cortex and midbrain.


Abnormal activity in all three areas has been linked to the development of psychotic disorders 6, such as schizophrenia.


Most current anti-psychotic drugs target the chemical dopamine. The brain uses dopamine to send signals from one nerve cell to another. But CBD works in a different way.


One major difference is that the body has an easier time dealing 7 with CBD than other substances. CBD is less likely to cause harmful side effects, such as weight gain and other health problems linked to existing medicines.


Bhattacharyya told the Reuters news agency, “One of the reasons CBD is exciting is because it is very well tolerated compared to the other anti-psychotics we have available.”


“There is an urgent need for a safe treatment for young people at risk of psychosis,” he added.


The Institute of Psychiatry 8, Psychology 9 and Neuroscience at King’s College now plans a 300-patient clinical trial of CBD as a treatment.


Researchers plan to start identifying subjects for the clinical trial in early 2019.


The latest findings show the complexity 10 of the combination of chemicals found within the marijuana plant. They come at a time when many countries are beginning to make their laws against cannabis less severe.


I’m Pete Musto.


Words in This Story


abnormal – adj. unusual especially in a way that causes problems


psychosis – n. a very serious mental illness that makes you behave strangely or believe things that are not true


benefit(s) – n. a good or helpful result or effect


capsule(s) – n. a very small container that is filled with medicine and swallowed whole


full-blown – adj. having all of the qualities that are associated with a particular thing or type of person


side effect(s) – n. an often harmful and unwanted effect of a drug or chemical that occurs along with the desired effect


tolerate(d) – v. to experience something harmful or unpleasant without being harmed


clinical – adj. relating to or based on work done with real patients



adj.反常的,不正常的,不规则的
  • This warm weather is abnormal for February.二月里这种温暖的天气不太正常。
  • That is simply abnormal.那简直是反常的。
a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的
  • Power can be intoxicating. 权力能让人得意忘形。
  • On summer evenings the flowers gave forth an almost intoxicating scent. 夏日的傍晚,鲜花散发出醉人的芳香。
adj.(含)酒精的,由酒精引起的;n.酗酒者
  • The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
  • Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。
n.紊乱,混乱;骚动,骚乱;疾病,失调
  • When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后,他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
  • It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。
adv.特定地;特殊地;明确地
  • They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
  • The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。
n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 );凌乱;骚乱;(身心、机能)失调
  • 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》
n.经商方法,待人态度
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
n.精神病学,精神病疗法
  • The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
  • A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。
n.心理,心理学,心理状态
  • She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
  • He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。
n.复杂(性),复杂的事物
  • Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
  • The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。
学英语单词
Acetamidocumarin
actuating brake cylinder
adjacent vortex
adoxographically
agglutinating
algivorous
annalized
assizer
autoregisters
bennion
Bergeroniellus
board machine
bombyliospora tuberculosa (fee)mass.
Boudican
branchiosaurid
cabinetful
call-outs
capillariness
checks-out procedure
chenser
classic blues
cloze comprehension test
coating loss
cold short material
column packing technique
crude oil stabilization
disturbance moment
double L stair
drying up
enelone
eosinophilous
fart tax
fulll and by
groove insert
hard system
have a liquor
higher animals
horizontal view angle
increased safety type electrical apparatus
inre
interleukin-1 receptor
Jaw-Blinking
Jyotis
Kozle
leofric
Leonotis nepetaefolia
lightning pains
Ligurta
loess deposit
log installation
Lua Nova
mahova
main entry words
megalithic astronomy
mesotrocha
minced pork in chili paste
mirabilary
Mueller matrices
nicodemi
off-let
one-point wavemeter
overtonnage
Palaeo-(Paleo-)
palmityl
plat-forms
position selector
positive integral exponent
potassium tetrabromoaurate(iii)
price match
program termination processing
proportionality limit
purple fringeless orchid
recast
rhododendron atrovirens franch
Rodman Cove
Russian salad
screws-on
service profile
shield pump
shih tzy dog
Sidney line
single throw
spinach green
stood witness
straight-side flank splines
strobe disc
sulcaria sulcata
table pizzas
taper slot
transferrer spring
Tyémé
underwater ordnance locator
undiscipline
unromantics
us space program
village and town finance
volume share
weepies
width of rebate
within large water boiler
xylarium
yondmost