I’m Shep O'Neal with the VOA Special English Health
Report.
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.
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 disorders. The study shows that,
compared to others, their babies were almost three times as likely to be born
with major problems. These included problems with the formation of the brain and
nervous system and holes in the heart.
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 Medicine 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.
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 diabetic.
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.
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 Administration 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.
This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Brianna Blake. Read and
listen to our reports at voaspecialenglish.com I'm Shep O'Neal.
birth
defect : 先天性缺陷
（來源：VOA 英語點(diǎn)津姍姍編輯）
