VOA慢速英语：治疗鼻塞的感冒药可能没啥效果

American government experts who studied a popular medicine used for colds say the drug is likely not effective and should not be taken by mouth.

美国政府专家对一种常用于感冒的药物进行了研究，称该药物可能无效，不应口服。

Sixteen experts for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration examined the drug phenylephrine. The drug is in many medicines that treat nasal congestion, a condition also known as a stuffy nose. The medicines include Sudafed, Allegra and Dayquil among others.

美国食品和药物管理局(FDA)的16名专家对苯肾上腺素进行了研究。这种药物存在于许多治疗鼻塞的药物中。这些药物包括速达菲(Sudafed)、 盐酸非索非那定(Allegra)和白加黑(Dayquil)等。

The experts read a scientific review released by the FDA before they met. The scientific study said there were many mistakes in earlier tests of phenylephrine's effectiveness. It said the FDA no longer accepted the earlier testing results.

专家们在会前阅读了FDA发布的一份科学审查报告。报告表示，早期苯肾上腺素的有效性测试有许多错误，FDA不再接受早期测试结果。

One of the experts was Dr. Mark Dykewicz. He is an allergy specialist at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. Dykewicz said, "Modern studies, when well conducted, are not showing any improvement in congestion with phenylephrine."

其中一位专家是马克·戴克维奇博士。他是圣路易斯大学医学院的过敏专家。戴克维奇说:“现代研究在进行得当的情况下，并没有显示苯肾上腺素在缓解鼻塞方面有任何改善效果。”

Phenylephrine is an over-the-counter drug. Anyone can buy it at a store. A doctor's order is not required to purchase it. Phenylephrine is the most popular decongestant in a market valued at $2.2 billion dollars.

苯肾上腺素是一种非处方药。任何人都可以在商店购买。不需要医生的处方。在价值22亿美元的市场中，苯肾上腺素是最受欢迎的减充血药。

If the FDA follows the advice of the experts, companies that make the medicine will have to remove it from stores. These companies include Johnson & Johnson, Bayer and other leading drug makers.

如果FDA采纳专家的建议，生产这种药物的公司将不得不将其下架。这些公司包括强生、拜耳和其他主要制药商。

The drug would remain in medicines taken through the nose, however. The nasal spray form of phenylephrine is considered effective and there are no plans to review it.

不过，这种药物仍将保留在经鼻服用的药品中。苯肾上腺素的鼻喷雾剂被认为是有效的，目前没有计划对其进行审查。

But offering higher amounts of the drug by mouth is not possible because it can increase blood pressure to dangerous levels.

但禁止大量使用这种药物，因为它会使血压升高到危险的水平。

Researchers at the University of Florida first requested that the FDA remove phenylephrine from a list of approved drugs. The same researchers questioned the drug's effectiveness in 2007. They said they found no difference between using the drug and using an inactive substance called a placebo.

佛罗里达大学的研究人员首先要求FDA将苯肾上腺素从批准的药物清单中删除。2007年，同一批研究人员就对这种药物的有效性提出了质疑。他们说，他们发现使用这种药物和使用一种叫做安慰剂的非活性物质没有区别。

Phenylephrine has been sold in different forms for 75 years. Dr. Theresa Michele leads the FDA's office of nonprescription drugs. She said, "Any time a product has been on the market that long, it's human nature to make assumptions about what we know about the product."

75年来，苯肾上腺素一直以不同的形式销售。特蕾莎·米歇尔博士是FDA非处方药办公室的负责人。她说:“任何时候，只要一种产品在市场上存在久了，人们自然就会对我们所了解的产品做出假设。”

The FDA reviewers said the studies they examined showed how quickly the body processes phenylephrine. The research shows that too little of the drug reaches the area of the nose when the medicine is taken by mouth. Forms of the drug sprayed into the nose appear more effective.

FDA的审查员说，他们审查的研究显示了身体对苯肾上腺素的快速反应。研究表明，当口服药物时，到达鼻腔区域的药物有限。喷入鼻腔的药物似乎更有效。

The reviewers said barring the drug from medicine taken by mouth would avoid the "unnecessary costs and delay in care of taking a drug that has no benefit.

审查人员说，禁止在口服药物中使用这种药物可以避免 "因服用无益药物而产生不必要的费用和延误治疗"。

The FDA has not updated its list of approved drugs to treat nasal congestion since 1995. The process for changing the list takes years. But Congress passed a law in 2020 that would speed the process for drugs that do not require a doctor's permission to use.

自1995年以来，FDA就没有更新过治疗鼻塞的批准药物清单。更改名单的过程需要数年时间。但国会在2020年通过了一项法律，将加快无需医生许可即可使用的药物的审批程序。

I'm Caty Weaver.

卡蒂·韦弗报道。