新研究：男人的肺似乎更易感染新冠病毒

Men’s blood has higher levels than women’s of a key enzyme used by the new coronavirus to infect cells, the results of a big European study showed on Monday — a finding which may help explain why men are more vulnerable to infection with COVID-19.

周一，一项欧洲的大型研究发现，一种新冠病毒用来感染细胞的关键的酶在男性血液中的含量高于女性。这一结果可能有助于解释为什么男人更容易感染新冠病毒。

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is found in the heart, kidneys and other organs. In COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, it is thought to play a role in how the infection progresses into the lungs.

ACE2（血管紧张素转换酶2）可以在心脏、肾脏和其他器官中发现。在由新型冠状病毒引起的呼吸系统疾病新冠肺炎中，这种酶被认为在肺部感染过程中起到一定作用。

The study, published in the European Heart Journal, also found that widely-prescribed drugs called ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) did not lead to higher ACE2 concentrations and should therefore not increase the COVID-19 risk for people taking them.

这项研究发表在《欧洲心脏杂志》上，研究也发现最常开的药物ARB（血管紧张素Ⅱ受体阻滞剂）并不会导致ACE2浓度升高，因此不会提高用这种药的人感染新冠病毒的风险。

ACE inhibitors and ARBs are widely prescribed to patients with congestive heart failure, diabetes or kidney disease. The drugs account for billions of dollars in prescription sales worldwide.

ACE抑制剂和ARB是心衰、糖尿病或肾病病人常开的药。这些药在全球处方药销售额中占到数十亿美元。

“Our findings do not support the discontinuation of these drugs in COVID-19 patients,” said Adriaan Voors, a professor of cardiology at the University Medical Center (UMC) Groningen in The Netherlands, who co-led the study.

荷兰格罗宁根大学医学中心的心脏病学教授Adriaan Voors是此项研究的共同作者，他说：“我们的发现不赞成停止给新冠病人使用这些药物。”

The COVID-19 pandemic has infected more than 4 million people worldwide and killed almost 277,000, according to a tally. Death and infection tolls point to men being more likely than women to contract the disease and to suffer severe or critical complications if they do.

据统计，全球新冠病毒感染人数超过400万，死亡人数达277,000。从死亡人数和感染人数来看，男人比女人更容易感染，感染以后也会有严重或致命的并发症。