Passage Two
Patients with HIV often develop shortages of vitamins in the body. Researchers examined whether giving these patients a multivitamin with a mineral supplement helps to improve the body's natural defenses in fighting disease.
For 30 years, AIDS has been a major health problem in some African countries south of the Sahara Desert. (13) In Botswana, one of every four adults is infected with HIV. Yet the country also has aggressive AIDS, prevention campaigns. That is why Professor Marianna Baum decided to carry out her research on HIV and vitamins there.
Professor Baum studied almost 900 newly infected adults in Botswana who had not yet been given anti-AIDS drugs that target HIV. The adults were divided into groups. Each group got different combinations of vitamins B, C, E, and the mineral selenium, or a placebo.
Most patients with HIV do not have enough vitamins. (14) Profess Baum says she thought the multivitamins by themselves or the mineral selenium by itself would help strengthen the immune system. She was wrong.
(14) "We were surprised to find that only the combination was effective." Studies show that when people with HIV begin taking anti-retroviral drugs shortly after infection, they can stay healthy and are less likely to pass the virus to their sexual partners. But many patients do not have enough money to pay for treatment.
Professor Baum says the vitamin and mineral therapy combination should help people in low-income countries better control the virus.
"A simple multivitamin supplementation with selenium provided early in HIV disease can actually slow the HIV disease progression, and it should be provided very early in HIV infection."
(15) She says the vitamin therapy should not replace anti-retroviral drugs, but it can help people who cannot get those medicines.
13. Why did Professor Marianna Baum decide to carry out her research in Botswana?
14. What did Professor Marianna Baum find out about vitamins and HIV?
15. According to Professor Marianna Baum, what do we know about the vitamin therapy?
文章二
艾滋病病毒(HIV)携带者体内通常会缺少维生素
。研究人员检测了通过给患者服用多种维生素片以及补充矿物质元素能否帮助提高患者机体的自然抗病能力 。三十年来,艾滋病一直是困扰非洲撒哈拉沙漠南部一些国家的最大的健康问题
。博茨瓦纳虽然有积极有力的艾滋病预防项目 。但是那里的成年人当中仍然有四分之一是HIV携带者 。这就是玛丽安娜·鲍姆教授决定在那里对HIV和维生素之间关系进行研究的原因 。鲍姆教授在新近被感染的约900位成年人中进行了研究,这些人还没有服用过针对HIV的抗艾滋病药物
。这些人被分成了几个小组 。它们给不同的小组服用不同的维生素和矿物质元素组合,其中包括维生素B、维生素C、维生素E、矿物元素硒,还有的小组仅仅服用安慰剂 。大部分HIV患者体内缺乏维生素 。鲍姆教授说,她本以为多种维生素片和矿物元素硒都可以单独起到增强免疫系统的作用 。但是她错了 。“我们惊奇地发现只有两者的组合才有效
。”研究表明,HIV患者被感染之后很快开始服用抗逆转录病毒的药物,他们就可以处于稳定的健康状态,并且将病毒传染给其性伙伴的几率也会降低 。但是,很多患者没有足够的钱接受治疗 。鲍姆教授说,在一些低收入国家,维生素和矿物质组合疗法可能会对控制病毒有帮助
。“简单地服用多维生素片添加矿物质硒可以减缓早期HIV患者的病情发展
问题13 玛丽安娜·鲍姆教授为什么决定在博茨瓦纳进行研究?
问题14 关于维生素与HIV的关系,玛丽安娜·鲍姆教授发现了什么?
问题15 根据玛丽安娜·鲍姆教授,我们对维生素疗法了解了什么?
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