VOA慢速英語：血液檢查確診阿爾茨海默癥取得早期進(jìn)展

Possible Blood Test for Alzheimer’s Shows Early Promise

血液檢查確診阿爾茨海默癥取得早期進(jìn)展

Researchers in Japan and Australia say they have made progress in developing a blood test that could one day help doctors identify who might get Alzheimer's disease.

日本和澳大利亞的研究人員表示，他們在開發(fā)一項血液檢測方面已經(jīng)取得了進(jìn)展，有朝一日這種檢測可以幫助醫(yī)生確診阿爾茨海默病。

The scientists said the test can recognize a protein known as amyloid beta, which other studies have linked to Alzheimer's. They said it was correct more than 90 percent of the time in a study involving over 370 people.

這些科學(xué)家表示，它可以檢測出一種被稱之為淀粉樣蛋白的蛋白質(zhì)，其它研究將這種蛋白質(zhì)跟阿爾茨海默病聯(lián)系到了一起。他們表示，在一項涉及370多人的研究中，其正確率超過了90%。

The findings were published in the journal Nature.

這一發(fā)現(xiàn)發(fā)表在《自然》雜志上。

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. Experts believe dementia affects close to 50-million people worldwide. By the year 2050, it is expected to affect more than 131 million people. Those numbers come from Alzheimer's Disease International, a non-profit group.

阿爾茨海默病是一種最常見的癡呆形式。專家認(rèn)為癡呆癥影響到全球近5千萬人口。到2050年，預(yù)計它將會影響超過1.31億人口。這些數(shù)字出自于非營利性組織國際阿爾茨海默病協(xié)會。

Currently, doctors have two ways to identify a buildup of amyloid beta in the brain. One is a brain scan or brain imaging; the other is invasive cerebrospinal fluid testing, also known as a spinal tap. But both tests are invasive, costly and may only show results when the disease has already started to progress.

目前醫(yī)生有兩種辦法來確診大腦中β淀粉樣蛋白的積聚。一種是大腦掃描或大腦成像，另一種是侵襲性腦脊髓液檢查，也稱之為脊髓液穿刺。但是這兩種辦法都是侵入性的，價格昂貴，而且只有在已經(jīng)患病時才能顯示出結(jié)果。

There is no treatment that can slow the progression of Alzheimer's. Current drugs can only ease some of the effects of the disease.

目前沒有任何治療可以延緩阿爾茨海默病的發(fā)展，藥物只能緩解這種疾病的一些影響。

Having a simple, low-cost blood test could make it easier for drug companies to find enough people who are at risk of developing Alzheimer's to test new medicines, said Katsuhiko Yanagisawa. He was one of the leaders of the study. He works at the Japanese National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology.

Katsuhiko Yanagisawa表示，擁有一種簡單、低成本的血液檢測方法可以讓制藥公司更容易找到足夠多存在患上老年癡呆癥風(fēng)險的人們來檢測新藥物。Katsuhiko Yanagisawa是這項研究的負(fù)責(zé)人之一，他在日本國立老年醫(yī)學(xué)和病學(xué)中心工作。

Alzheimer's disease is thought to start developing years before patients have any signs of memory loss. Experts say an important factor in finding an effective treatment will be the ability to recognize signs of the disease early.

據(jù)認(rèn)為阿爾茨海默病在患者產(chǎn)生任何失憶跡象的幾年前已經(jīng)發(fā)病。專家們表示，找到有效治療方法的一個重要因素就是能夠及早識別出這種疾病的征兆。

"You have got to walk before you run," said Colin Masters, a co-leader of the study and a professor at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

澳大利亞墨爾本大學(xué)教授及這項研究的聯(lián)合負(fù)責(zé)人科林·馬斯特斯(Colin Masters)表示：“我們必須得循序漸進(jìn)。”

"You have to learn to diagnose the disease directly before you can hope to see the effect of therapeutic intervention. And that's where the real value in this test will come," Masters added.

馬斯特斯表示：“在我們想要看到治療干預(yù)效果之前，必須先學(xué)會直接診斷這種疾病。而這就是這種血液檢測真正的價值所在。”

The study involved 252 Australian and 121 Japanese patients. They were all between 60 and 90 years old.

該研究涉及了252名澳大利亞患者和121名日本患者。他們的年齡都在60到90歲之間。

Scientists not directly involved in the study said it made an important step, but now the findings need to be confirmed.

未直接參與這項研究的科學(xué)家們表示，這是重要的一步，但是這項發(fā)現(xiàn)目前尚需得到證實。

Mark Dallas is a teacher at Britain's University of Reading. He said, "if (it) can be repeated in a larger number of people, this test will give us an insight into changes occurring in the brain that relate to Alzheimer's disease."

馬克·達(dá)拉斯(Mark Dallas)是英國雷丁大學(xué)的老師。他說：“如果它可以在大量人身上重復(fù)得到證實，那么這項檢測就能讓我們了解到與阿爾茨海默病有關(guān)的大腦變化。”

Abdul Hye works at King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience. He said the blood test was still a long way from being able to be used in medical centers.

Abdul Hye就職于倫敦國王學(xué)院精神病學(xué)、心理學(xué)和神經(jīng)學(xué)學(xué)院。他說，這種血液檢測距離在醫(yī)療中心應(yīng)用還有很長的路要走。

John Hardy is a professor of neuroscience at University College London. He said it was a "hopeful study," one that could improve diagnostic accuracy.

John Hardy是倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院的一名神經(jīng)學(xué)教授。他說，這是一項“充滿希望的研究，”它可以提高診斷的準(zhǔn)確性。

I'm Bryan Lynn.

布萊恩·林恩報道。