Pregnant Women Warned About ACE1 Inhibitor

　　Some of the most #monly 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 disorders2. The study shows that, #pared to others, their babies were almost three times as likely to be born with major problems. 3 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 Medicine4 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 defects5. 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 Administration6 helped pay for the study. The F. D. A. says women who might be#e pregnant should talk with their doctor about other ways to treat high blood pressure.

　　1. Paragraph 2______.

　　2. Paragraph 3______.

　　3. Paragraph 4______.

　　4. Paragraph 5______.

　　A Effects of ACE and ACE Inhibitors

　　B Wide Use of ACE Inhibitors

　　C How to Deal with High Blood Pressure in Pregnant Women

　　D Damage to Pregnant Women's Future Babies

　　E Suggestions on Stopping the Use of ACE Inhibitors

　　F Relative Safety for Women During the First Three Months of Pregnancies

　　5. FDA suggests that pregnant women with high blood pressure should consult______.

　　6. ACE inhibitors are not re#mended______.

　　7. Evidence showed only a small percentage of babies suffered major disorders______.

　　8. ACE is a risk factor to our body______.

　　A that may cause our blood vessels to be#e more and more narrow

　　B for pregnant women to take during their last six months of pregnancies

　　C that their likelihood to suffer major problems is two times higher than other babies

　　D with their doctors about how to treat their problems

　　E because diabetes during pregnancy may sometimes lead to birth defects

　　F though their mothers took ACE inhibitors during their first three months of pregnancies

　　【参考答案】

　　1.D 2.F 3.A 4.C 5.D 6.B 7.F 8.A