单选题
Until last year, Alan Felzer was an energetic engineering professor who took the stairs to his classes two steps at a time. Now the 64-year-old grandfather sits strapped to a wheelchair, able to move little but his left hand, his voice a near-whisper. Felzer suffers from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig"s disease. The fatal neurological disorder steals the body"s ability to move, speak and ultimately to breathe. But rather than succumb to despair along with his illness, Felzer turned to the Web to become his own medical researcher—and his own guinea pig.
Dozens of ALS patients are testing treatments on their own without waiting on the slow pace of medical research. They are part of an emerging group of patients willing to share intimate health details on the Web in hopes of making their own medical discoveries.
Some doctors caution that such patient-led research lacks rigor and may lead to unreliable results, false hopes and harm to patients. "The Internet is a wonderful tool, but you know, it"s buyer beware," said Dr. Edward Langston, immediate past chairman of the American Medical Association"s board.
In Felzer"s case, the experiment"s results illustrate the obstacles that stand between patients and self-discovered breakthroughs. The drug he tried did no good. But he and his family felt they had little time and little to lose in trying. "ALS is such a short illness," said Felzer"s wife, Laura. She helps her husband communicate using sign language with his one good hand when his slow, halting words become difficult to understand. "You want to do what you can as fast as you can."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved only one drug to treat ALS symptoms. It only works for some patients, and its effects are limited. As a result, Internet forums for ALS patients brim with links to the latest research offering any hint of promise. After Alan Felzer was diagnosed last year, his 33-year-old daughter, Karen, dived into the forums and found new hope. Working online, Karen Felzer and Macedo recruited nearly 200 patients worldwide to take a specific lithium dosage and answer standard surveys to gauge their symptoms. They began running their study through a Web site called PatientsLikeMe. com, using it to attract volunteers and track their progress.
On the site, patients share detailed information about their symptoms and the drugs they are taking. The site focuses on conditions that have stubbornly resisted medical science, such as ALS, Parkinson"s and multiple sclerosis. The site"s founders hope professional and amateur researchers alike will dip into the resulting pool of data and emerge with insights that lead to better treatments. "My ultimate frustration that drove this site into existence was an overall feeling that there was a lack of transparency and speed or urgency" by the medical system, said Jamie Heywood, who co-founded PatientsLikeMe months before his own brother died of ALS.
单选题
Some ALS patients or their family turn to the Web for help because ______
单选题
It can be inferred that the lithium dosage ______
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 第四段提到，网上论坛中有很多链接，导向可能带来一丝希望(hint of promise)的一些最新研究成果。下一句提到，在Felzer女儿的组织下，ALS病人正在尝试一种制剂，他们把使用该药的效果在网站上分享。由此推断，lithium dosage是一种最新研制的药物。
单选题
The PatientLikeMe Web site ______
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 最后一段提到创办这个网站的初衷。首先，它聚焦于conditions that have stubbornly resisted medical science。所谓“顽固地抵制医疗科学的病情”，指那些还没有找到治疗办法的疾病。其次，它为病人分享药物疗效信息提供了一个论坛。再次，创办者也希望专业人员或非专业人员都能好好研究上传到网上的数据，帮助找到更有效的治疗方法。
单选题
Which of the following is true according to the author?
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 在最后一段Jamie Heywood谈到他创办网站的原因。他兄弟的病使他感到医疗体制缺乏透明度，效率低下，没有紧迫感。网站恰好能增加透明度，提高效率。第二段也提到医学研究的慢节奏(the slow pace of medical research)，而ALS又是一种short illness(第三段)，所以病人及其家属只能只争朝夕(do what you can as fast as you can)。可见，这种自发的实验源自对医疗体制的不满。