People with clinical depression can feel very
sad, hopeless4, and unimportant5.
Often6 they are unable to live7 in
a normal way8. Some people who suffer from9
depression kill themselves10.
Clinical depression can be11 a
difficult disease12 for medical professionals to
diagnose, or identify13. And it is difficult to treat14
-- what may work15 for one patient suffering
from depression may not work16 for another.
Some experts estimate that medicine used to
treat depression is effective17 in treating 80 to 90
percent of patients. But other studies suggest medication is not much
better at18 reducing levels19 of
clinical depression than a placebo.
A placebo is an inactive substance given
to patients20 who do not know it is not medicine21.
Helen Mayberg is a researcher22
at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She says the first treatment23
for depression often fails24.
“The problem is that whatever you get25,
the published numbers, even in26 randomized27
studies, is getting people well28 -- the remission
rate29 is about30 40 percent, which
means31, for most people, the first thing you are given is
not likely32 to work.”
That means doctors must try33
different methods of treatments until they find34 one
that is effective.
But technology may change that. Ms. Mayberg leads
a team35 of researchers at Emory University. They used brain
imaging technology36 called P.E.T., or positron emission
tomography to study treatment effects. The study involved 63 depressed
patients.
P.E.T. uses a radioactive sugar molecule that follows37
brain activity. This sugar molecule “lights up38”
areas of the brain that become affected by39 stimuli40.
Two kinds of stimuli were used in the study -- medication or talk therapy.
The researchers found that one area of the
brain -- called the anterior insula -- seemed to predict41 which
treatment would work.
Patients with a slow-working42
anterior insula did best with cognitive talk therapy. Patients with a
very busy anterior insula reacted well to medication -- a drug43
called Lexapro.
Ms. Mayberg says the anterior insula is part
of a system in the brain that watches over44 the inner45
state of the body. The anterior insula is activated during46
times of47 extreme pain48 or suffering49.
Ms. Mayberg says the insula may be a
biological marker for depression. She says her team’s findings50
could help doctors treat psychiatric disorders in the same way51
they treat other medical conditions.
“…where we do tests of various sorts52
to make management decisions53
all the time54. Whereas55 in breast cancer56, we
do tumor markers in order to57
determine both that a treatment is likely58
to help you but also determine without59
a marker that certain treatments are not for you.”
And that’s the Health Report from VOA Learning
English.
Vocabulary
- added to = acrescentado a
- those who simply feel sad = aqueles que
simplesmente sentem-se tristes
- because of = por causa de
- hopeless = sem esperança
- unimportant = insignificante
- Often = frequentemente
- unable to live = incapaz de viver
- way = forma
- suffer from = sofrem de
- kill themselves = se matam
- can be = pode ser
- disease = doença
- identify = identificar
- treat = tratar
- what may work = o que pode funcionar
- may not work = pode não funcionar
- effective = eficiente
- is not much better at = não é muito melhor
em
- levels = níveis
- given to patients = dado a pacientes
- medicine = medicamentos
- researcher = pesquisador(a)
- treatment = tratamento
- fails = falha
- whatever you get = o que quer que voce
consiga
- even in = até mesmo em
- randomized = feito de forma aleatoria
- getting people well = fazer as pessoas
ficarem bem
- remission rate = indice de remissão
(diminuição)
- about = aproximadamente
- which means = o que significa
- likely = provável
- must try = devem tentar
- until they find = até que eles encontrem
- leads a team = lidera uma equipe
- brain imaging technology = tecnologia de
imagem cerebral
- follows = acompanha
- lights up = acende, ilumina
- become affected by = tornam-se afetadas
por
- stimuli = estimulos
- seemed to predict = parecia prever
- slow-working = de funcionamento lento
- drug = remédio
- watches over = vigia
- inner = interno
- during = durante
- times of = épocas de
- extreme pain = dor extrema
- suffering = sofrimento
- findings = descobertas
- in the same way = da mesma forma
- various sorts = varios tipos
- management decisions = decisões
administrativas
- all the time = o tempo todo
- Whereas = enquanto que
- breast cancer = cancer de mama
- in order to = a fim de
- likely = provável
- without = sem