What is Alzheimer's disease? - Ivan Seah Yu Jun

Šta je Alchajmerova bolest? - Ivan Sea Ju Džun (Ivan Seah Yu Jun)

Prevodilac: Mile Živković Lektor: Anja Saric

Every four seconds,

Svake četiri sekunde,

someone is diagnosed with

nekome će biti dijagnozirana

Alzheimer's disease.

Alchajmerova bolest.

It's the most common cause of dementia,

To je najčešći uzrok demencije,

affecting over 40 million people worldwide,

koja pogađa preko 40 miliona ljudi širom sveta,

and yet finding a cure is something that still

ali pronalaženje leka je i danas

eludes researchers today.

nemoguće za istraživače.

Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist,

Dr Alois Alchajmer, nemački psihijatar,

first described the symptoms in 1901

prvi put je opisao simptome 1901.

when he noticed that a particular hospital patient

kada je primetio da je jedan bolnički pacijent

had some peculiar problems,

imao neke jedinstvene probleme,

including difficulty sleeping,

poput problema sa snom,

disturbed memory, drastic mood changes,

poremećenog sećanja, drastičnih promena ponašanja

and increasing confusion.

i rastuće zbunjenosti.

When the patient passed away,

Kada je pacijent preminuo,

Alzheimer was able to do an autopsy

Alchajmer je mogao da uradi autopsiju

and test his idea that perhaps

i isproba svoju ideju da su možda

her symptoms were caused by irregularities

njene simptome izazvale nepravilnosti

in the brain's structure.

u strukturi mozga.

What he found beneath the microscope

Pod mikroskopom je otkrio

were visible differences in brain tissue

vidljive razlike u moždanom tkivu

in the form of misfolded proteins

u obliku pogrešno savijenih proteina

called plaques,

zvanim plakovi,

and neurofibrillary tangles.

i neurofibrilarnih čvorova.

Those plaques and tangles work together

Plakovi i čvorovi rade zajedno

to break down the brain's structure.

kako bi razbili strukturu mozga.

Plaques arise when another protein

Plakovi se dešavaju kada se drugi protein

in the fatty membrane surrounding nerve cells

u membrani masti koja okružuje nervne ćelije

gets sliced up by a particular enzyme,

isecka od strane određenog enzima,

resulting in beta-amyloid proteins,

što za posledicu ima beta-amiloidne proteine,

which are sticky and have a tendency

koji su lepljivi i imaju tendenciju

to clump together.

da se grupišu zajedno.

That clumping is what forms the things

Ovo grupisanje formira

we know as plaques.

ono što zovemo plakom.

These clumps block signaling

Ove grupe blokiraju signalizaciju

and, therefore, communication

i stoga komunikaciju

between cells, and also seem to trigger

među ćelijama, i čini se da pokreću

immune reactions that cause the destruction

imune reakcije koje izazivaju uništenje

of disabled nerve cells.

onesposobljenih nervnih ćelija.

In Alzheimer's disease, neurofibrillary tangles

Kod Alchajmerove bolesti, neurofibrilarne čvorove

are built from a protein known as tau.

gradi protein zvani tau.

The brain's nerve cells contain a network of tubes

Nervne ćelije mozga sadrže mrežu cevi

that act like a highway for food molecules

koje se ponašaju kao autoput za molekule hrane

among other things.

između ostalog.

Usually, the tau protein ensures that these tubes

Protein tau se obično stara da su ove cevi prave

are straight, allowing molecules

i tako dozvoljavalju molekulima

to pass through freely.

da slobodno prolaze.

But in Alzheimer's disease,

Ali kod Alchajmerove bolesti,

the protein collapses into twisted strands or tangles,

protein se lomi u uvrnute niti ili čvorove

making the tubes disintegrate,

od čega se cevi raspadaju

obstructing nutrients from reaching the nerve cell

i sprečavaju hranljive materije da dođu do nervne ćelije,

and leading to cell death.

od čega same ćelije umiru.

The destructive pairing of plaques and tangles

Destruktivna kombinacija plakova i čvorova

starts in a region called the hippocampus,

kreće iz dela mozga zvanog hipokampus,

which is responsible for forming memories.

koji je odgovoran za stvaranje sećanja.

That's why short-term memory loss

Zbog toga je gubitak kratkotrajnog sećanja

is usually the first symptom of Alzheimer's.

obično prvi simptom Alchajmerove bolesti.

The proteins then progressively invade

Proteini onda postepeno napadaju

other parts of the brain,

druge delove mozga

creating unique changes that signal

i stvaraju jedinstvene promene

various stages of the disease.

koje predstavljaju razne faze bolesti.

At the front of the brain,

U prednjem delu mozga,

the proteins destroy the ability to process logical thoughts.

proteini uništavaju sposobnost obrade logičkih misli.

Next, they shift to the region that controls emotions,

Onda se prebacuju na deo koji kontroliše emocije,

što za posledicu ima nestalne promene u raspoloženju.

resulting in erratic mood changes.

At the top of the brain,

Na vrhu mozga,

they cause paranoia and hallucinations,

izazivaju paranoju i halucinacije

and once they reach the brain's rear,

i jednom kada dođu do zadnjeg dela mozga,

the plaques and tangles work together

plakovi i čvorovi rade zajedno

to erase the mind's deepest memories.

kako bi obrisali najdublja sećanja u mozgu.

Eventually the control centers governing

Konačno će pokleknuti i kontrolni centri

heart rate and breathing are overpowered as well

koji kontrolišu otkucaje srca i disanje,

resulting in death.

što za posledicu ima smrt.

The immensely destructive nature of this disease

Neverovatno destruktivna priroda ove bolesti

has inspired many researchers to look for a cure

nadahnula je mnoge istraživače da potraže lek

but currently they're focused on slowing its progression.

ali trenutno su usredređeni na usporavanje napretka bolesti.

One temporary treatment

Jedno privremeno rešenje

helps reduce the break down of acetylcholine,

pomaže da se smanji razbijanje acetilholina,

an important chemical messenger in the brain

važnog hemijskog kurira u mozgu

which is decreased in Alzheimer's patients

čija količina se smanjuje kod pacijenata sa Alchajmerovom bolešću

due to the death of the nerve cells that make it.

zbog izumiranja nervnih ćelija koje ga proizvode.

Another possible solution is a vaccine

Drugo moguće rešenje je vakcina

that trains the body's immune system to attack

koja bi obučila imuni sistem tela da napadne

beta-amyloid plaques before they can form clumps.

beta-amiloidni plak pre nego što se grupiše.

But we still need to find an actual cure.

Ali još uvek moramo da pronađemo pravi lek.

Alzheimer's disease was discovered

Alchajmerova bolest je otkrivena

more than a century ago,

pre više od jednog veka

and yet still it is not well understood.

a još uvek je ne razumemo dobro.

Perhaps one day we'll grasp

Možda ćemo jednog dana shvatiti

the exact mechanisms at work behind this threat

tačne mehanizme koji su iza ove pretnje

and a solution will be unearthed.

i doći će se do rešenja.