Drugmaker Novo Nordisk says tests show good weight loss results from a daily pill version of its diabetes treatments.
制药商诺和诺德表示，测试显示其糖尿病疗法中的一种日服药丸的减重效果良好。
The company sells the drug semaglutide under the names Wegovy and Ozempic. It is currently available only as a weekly injection.
该公司以韦戈维和奥兹匹克的名义销售药物索马鲁肽。它目前只能作为每周一次的注射剂使用。
But some people are afraid of needles. So, Novo Nordisk has been testing how the drug works when taken by mouth.
但是有些人害怕打针。因此，诺和诺德公司一直在测试这种药物口服后的效果。
Wegovy and Ozempic have gotten a lot of attention in the last year for helping people lose weight. The government has approved the drugs to treat people with the disease diabetes. But weight loss doctors also give the medication to overweight people who do not have diabetes.
韦戈维和奥兹匹克去年因为有助于人们减肥而备受关注。美国政府已经批准这种药物用于治疗糖尿病患者。但是减肥医生也会给没有患上糖尿病的超重人群服用这种药物。
Novo Nordisk said Sunday that two 16-month studies showed good results when people took a daily pill instead of a weekly shot.
诺和诺德周日表示，两项为期16个月的研究显示，当人们每天服用一粒药丸而不是每周注射一次时，效果良好。
One study followed 1,600 overweight adults who were already being treated for diabetes. They took a pill version of the drug each day. They lost between seven and nine kilograms.
一项研究跟踪调查了1600名已经在接受糖尿病治疗的超重成年人。他们服用了这种药物的日服药丸。他们瘦了七到九公斤。
The other study looked at 660 overweight people who had a weight-related disease other than diabetes. Those people took a daily pill containing 50 milligrams of the medication. They lost about 16 kilograms.
另一项研究观察了660名超重者，他们患有与体重相关的疾病，而不是糖尿病。这些人每天服用一粒含有50毫克药物的药丸。他们瘦了大约16公斤。
The writers of the study said the results of the second group were similar to those who received the Wegovy injection once per week.
该研究的作者表示，第二组的结果与每周注射一次韦戈维的结果相似。
Novo Nordisk said it expects to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the pills for weight loss later this year.
诺和诺德表示，预计它将于今年晚些时候向美国食品药品监督管理局申请批准将这种药丸用于减肥。
Some of the people in the study reported side effects including intestinal problems, sick stomach and diarrhea.
研究中的一些人报告了包括肠道问题、胃部不适和腹泻在内的副作用。
Daniel Bessen is a weight loss doctor in Denver. He was not involved with the study, but he treats patients who use weight loss drugs. He said, if you ask people, "'Would you rather take a pill or an injection?' People overwhelmingly prefer a pill."
丹尼尔·贝森是丹佛的一名减肥医生。他没有参与这项研究，但他治疗的患者使用了减肥药物。他说，如果你问人们，“‘你愿意吃药还是打针？’绝大多数人选择吃药。”
He added, however, that people might not feel the same way if the pills are more costly than the injections. He said cost and availability are the most important issues for people when deciding which drugs to take.
然而，他补充说，如果吃药比打针更贵，人们可能会有不同感受。他说，在人们决定使用哪种药物时，价格和便利性是最重要的问题。
Katherine Saunders is a weight loss doctor at Weill Cornell Health in New York City. She said people will be "thrilled" with the ability to take a pill.
凯瑟琳·桑德斯是纽约市威尔康奈尔健康中心的一名减肥医生。她说，人们会对能够服用药丸感到“兴奋”。
Novo Nordisk already has a pill form of semaglutide that is used for diabetes. It is called Rybelsus. But it contains less semaglutide than Wegovy.
诺和诺德已经有了一种用于治疗糖尿病的索马鲁肽药丸。它被称为Rybelsus。但它的索马鲁肽含量要比韦戈维低。
Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford is an expert in treating overweight people at Massachusetts General Hospital. She does not think the availability of a daily pill will change the habits of many people who already use the injections. She said, "A lot of people like the ease of taking a medication once a week."
法蒂玛·科迪·斯坦福医生是马萨诸塞州总医院治疗超重人群的专家。她认为，日服药丸的便利性不会改变许多已经使用注射剂的人的习惯。她说：“很多人喜欢每周打一针的轻松。”
She also said some people might prefer the shots to a pill that needs to be taken 30 minutes before eating or drinking each morning.
她还说，有些人可能会选择注射剂，而不是每天早上吃饭或喝水前30分钟服用的药丸。
Paul Morer is 56 years old. He said he has lost about 40 kilograms using Wegovy and does not mind the injection. "I do it on Saturday, it's part of my routine," he said. "I don't even feel the needle," Morer added.
保罗·莫雷尔今年56岁。他说，他使用韦戈维已经瘦了大约40公斤，他也并不介意打针。他说：“我周六打一针，这是我日常生活的一部分。”莫雷尔补充道：“我甚至感觉不到扎针。”
Some people, however, think the availability of a pill will make it more difficult for obese people to be accepted. Tigress Osborn is the leader of an activist group called the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.
然而有些人认为，药丸的推出会使肥胖者更难被接受。泰格瑞丝·奥斯本是一家名为“全美肥胖认同推广协会”的活动组织的领导人。
The news of a weight loss pill, she said, may make it hard for people who are overweight to escape the feeling that "your body is wrong, and it should change."
她说，减肥药的新闻可能会让超重者很难摆脱“你的身体状况不对，应该作出改变”的感觉。
The drug companies Eli Lilly and Pfizer are also working on a pill version of their diabetes medications for weight loss.
制药公司礼来和辉瑞也在研发一种用于减肥的糖尿病药丸。
Many of these drugs are so popular for weight loss that they have become hard to get. They are also very costly – some can be over $1,000 per month. Novo Nordisk said it could not predict the cost of their pill. The company also said injectable Wegovy will continue to be hard to get until at least September.
其中许多药物在减肥方面非常受欢迎，以至于很难买到。它们也非常昂贵——有些每月可能超过1000美元。诺和诺德表示，他们无法预测这种药丸的成本。该公司还表示，至少在9月份之前，可注射的韦戈维仍将很难买到。
I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Ashley Thompson.
我是丹·弗里德尔。我是阿什利·汤普森。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，请勿转载，违者必究！)