研究表明:經常做噩夢易患帕金森癥

     Horrifying dreams at night could be one of the first signs of Parkinson's disease, according to scientists.Those who shout or cry in their sleep could be more likely to develop the condition within the next five years.

　　近日，科學家研究證明了夜里經常噩夢的人患帕金森綜合癥的機率非常高。研究者說，特別是在夢中做夢時"大喊""大哭"等癥狀的人，在5年內，更容易患上帕金森綜合癥。

　　Experts have found that people who suffer from a condition known as 'REM sleep disturbance' - which includes nightmares and sudden kicking movements - are more likely to develop Parkinson's and other forms of dementia.

　　究其原因是因為做噩夢的人在做夢的時候會經歷不同時間“快速眼動(REM)”，這種干擾睡眠質量的癥狀會使得人在夢中尖叫、甚至四肢抖動。

　　REM or rapid eye movement is the stage in sleep when people typically dream.Normal sleepers are effectively paralysed during this stage because the brain shuts off the muscles allowing the body to properly rest.But this doesn't happen to those with REM disorders, who often act out their dreams with violent movements.Scientists in Barcelona found that a fifth of those over 60 suffering from the condition went on to develop Parkinson's, and other degenerative diseases such as Lewy body dementia.The study, published in the Lancet Neurology journal, suggests that sleep disorders could be one of the first signs of brain diseases.

　　“快速眼動(REM)”是人在夢境中一種反應。一般來說，正常人在睡覺的時候，大腦會處于“休息”狀態(tài)，大腦會停止肌肉的運動，這時候，人的身體會處于絕對的放松狀態(tài)。然而擁有“快速眼動(REM)”癥狀的時候，肌肉的運動不能立馬停止，伴隨著噩夢，人們的身體會有“劇烈的抖動”?？茖W家說，大約有20%上了60歲的老人患有此癥狀。

　　Parkinson's affects about 120,000 people in Britain, mainly those over the age of 50.Those suffering from the disease don't have enough of a chemical called dopamine because some nerve cells in their brain have died.

　　在英國，帕金森綜合癥影響了12萬超過50歲的老人，他們大腦中的神經細胞部分死亡，同時缺少一種叫做多巴胺（一種治腦神經病的藥物）的治療。

　　Without dopamine their movements become slower, they become confused and lose their memory.

　　缺乏了多巴胺，他們的身體逐漸逐漸會緩慢下來，這也是帕金森綜合癥的癥狀之一。

　　Vocabulary

　　dopamine n. 多巴胺（一種治腦神經病的藥物）

　　dream n. 夢想，愿望；夢

　　Parkinson's disease n. 帕金森綜合癥