Question

Antidepressant（抗憂郁）drugs such as Prozac were viewed in the early 1900's as wonder pills that would remove depressive blues for good. But in the past five years, growing scientific evidence has shown these drugs work for only a minority of people. And now a research journal says that these antidepressants can make many patients' depression worse. This alarming suggestion centres on the very chemical that is targeted by antidepressants-serotonin（血清素）. Drugs such as Prozac are known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors（or SSRIs）. Their aim is to increase the level of this  “feel-good” chemical in the brain.

But the new research, published in the journal Frontiers In Evolutionary Psychology, points out that serotonin is like a chemical Swiss Army knife, performing a very wide range of jobs in the brain and body. And when we start changing serotonin levels purposely, it may cause a wide range of unwanted effects. These can include digestive problems and even early deaths in older people, according to the study's lead researcher Paul Andrews. “ We need to be much more cautious about use of these drugs,” says Andrews, an assistant professor of evolutionary psychology at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada.

Previous research has suggested that the drugs provide little benefit for most people with mild depression, and actively help only a few of the most severely depressed. Famous psychologist Irving Kirsch has found that for many patients, SSRIs are no more effective than a placebo pill. A research in 2010 on Danish children found a small, but significant, increase in the risk of heart problems among babies whose mothers had used SSRIs in early pregnancy. The key to understanding these side-effects is serotonin, says Andrews. Serotonin is also the reason why patients can often end up feeling still more depressed after they have finished a course of SSRI drugs. He argues that SSRI antidepressants disturb the brain, leaving the patient an even greater depression than before.

“After long use, when a patient stops taking SSRIs, the brain will lower its levels of serotonin production,” he says, adding that it also changes the way receptors in the brain respond to serotonin, making the brain less sensitive to the chemical. These changes are believed to be temporary, but studies indicate that the effects may continue for up to two years.

Most disturbingly of all, Andrews' review features three recent studies which, he says , show that elderly antidepressant users are more likely to die earlier than non-users, even after taking other important variables into account. One study, published in the British Medical Journal last year, found patients given SSRIs were more than 4 per cent more likely to die in the next year than those not on the drugs.

“Serotonin is an ancient chemical,” says Andrews. “It is regulating many different processes, and when you disturb these things, you can expect that it is going to cause some harm.”

Stafford Lightman, professor of medicine at the University of Bristol, and a leading UK expert in brain chemicals and hormones, says Andrews’ review highlights some important problems, yet it should also be taken with a pinch of salt. “This report is doing the opposite of what drug companies do,” he says. “Drug companies selectively present all the positives in their research, while this search selectively presents all the negatives that can be found. Nevertheless, Andrews' study is useful in that it is always worth pointing out that there is a downside to any medicine. ” Professor Lightman adds that there is still a great deal we don't know about SSRIs-not least what they actually do in our brains.

When it comes to understanding why the drugs work only for a limited part of patients, U.S.  scientists think they might now have the answer. They think that in many depressed patients, it’s not only the lack of feel-good serotonin causing their depression, but also a failure in the area of the brain that produces new cells throughout our lives. This area, the hippocampus, is also responsible for regulating mood and memory. Research suggests that in patients whose hippocampus has lost the ability to produce new cells, SSRIs do not bring any benefit.

1.According to paragraph 2, serotonin, like a chemical Swiss Army knife, can             .

A. make many patients' depression worse

B. cause a wide range of unwanted effects

C. affect human body and brain in various ways

D. provide little benefit for most depressed people

2.In Stafford Lightman's opinion,                     .

A. drug companies don't know the negative effect of antidepressants

B. Andrews focused on different things from the drug companies

C. scientists have found what SSRIs do in the brain

D. Andrews' research has no medical value

3.Which of the following is TRUE about SSRIs?

A. They are used to increase the “feel-good” medical in the brain.

B. They can work even when the hippocampus can't produce new cells.

C. They create a risk of heart problems in pregnant women.

D. They are responsible for controlling mood and memory.

4.What is the text mainly about?

A. The aim of drug companies

B. The function of SSRIs

C. The side-effects of antidepressants

D. The cause of depression

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.C

【解析】

試題分析：抗憂郁的藥物如Prozac在二十世紀初期被認為是靈丹妙藥，能讓人的抑郁心情變好。但是在近五年間，不斷增加的科學證據表明這些藥物只對一小部分人有效， 而且使許多病人的抑郁癥更嚴重。這類抗抑郁的藥物在很多方面都有不容忽視的副作用。如記憶力減退、藥物依賴性、早亡等等。

1.細節(jié)理解題。根據第二段的第一句話的意思（一項新的研究指出血清素就像一個化學的瑞士軍刀一樣，對人的大腦和身體都有影響。）判斷選C。

2.細節(jié)理解題。根據第七段的意思（Stafford Lightman說：Andrew的觀點指出了一些重要的問題。但是還不夠。這個報告和藥物公司做的相反，藥物公司只說好處，而Andrew說出了藥物的副作用。）判斷Andrew和藥物公司的關注點不同。故選B。

3.推理判斷題。SSRIs的副作用有:對嚴重絕望的一些人有效，病情輕微的人幾乎沒什么好處。而且有依賴性。停藥后病情會加重。丹麥的孩子中，其母親懷孕早期用過此藥的心臟病的發(fā)病率增加了。還會導致年老的人早亡。使人們不能再生產新的細胞，而這一區(qū)域還負責調節(jié)情緒和記憶。根據第一段最后一句的意思（這些藥物旨在增加大腦中“感覺良好”的物質的量。）判斷，選A。

4.主題歸納題。根據第一段的大意（近五年的科學證據表明：抗抑郁的藥只對一小部分人有效， 而且使許多病人的抑郁癥更嚴重。）判斷，文章主要講了對治療憂郁癥的藥的副作用的新發(fā)現。故選C。

考點： 科普類短文閱讀。