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

阿兹海默症是什么？ - Ivan Seah Yu Jun

翻译人员: Peipei Xiang 校对人员: Justine Bai

Every four seconds,

平均每4秒

someone is diagnosed with

就会有一个人被诊断患有

Alzheimer's disease.

阿兹海默症（原称老年痴呆症）

It's the most common cause of dementia,

这是造成痴呆（dementia）的头号原因

affecting over 40 million people worldwide,

影响着全球4千多万人

and yet finding a cure is something that still

然而研究人员至今也没能找到

eludes researchers today.

治愈这种病的方法

Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist,

爱罗斯·阿兹海默博士 一位德国精神病学家

first described the symptoms in 1901

于1901年在注意到某一名患者的

when he noticed that a particular hospital patient

特有症状之后 首次描述了它

had some peculiar problems,

这名患者的特有症状

including difficulty sleeping,

包括入睡困难

disturbed memory, drastic mood changes,

记忆力异常 剧烈的情绪波动

and increasing confusion.

以及越发严重的精神混乱

When the patient passed away,

当这名病人去世之后

Alzheimer was able to do an autopsy

阿兹海默得以解剖尸体

and test his idea that perhaps

从而测试他的理论 也就是

her symptoms were caused by irregularities

导致她那些病症的原因是

in the brain's structure.

大脑内部的一些不规律的现象

What he found beneath the microscope

在他显微镜下发现的

were visible differences in brain tissue

是大脑组织中可见的

in the form of misfolded proteins

错误折叠的蛋白质

called plaques,

也就是神经斑

and neurofibrillary tangles.

以及神经元纤维缠结

Those plaques and tangles work together

这些神经斑和神经元纤维缠结共同作用

to break down the brain's structure.

毁坏了大脑的结构

Plaques arise when another protein

当神经细胞周围的

in the fatty membrane surrounding nerve cells

脂肪膜里面的蛋白质

gets sliced up by a particular enzyme,

被一种特定的酶切割成一片片

resulting in beta-amyloid proteins,

并形成有粘性的容易结块的

which are sticky and have a tendency

β-淀粉样蛋白时

to clump together.

神经斑就形成了

That clumping is what forms the things

结块的时候就产生了

we know as plaques.

我们所知道的“神经斑”

These clumps block signaling

这些块状的东西会阻挡信号传递

and, therefore, communication

因此阻挡了细胞之间的交流

between cells, and also seem to trigger

貌似还引发了

immune reactions that cause the destruction

导致受损的神经细胞毁灭的

of disabled nerve cells.

免疫反应

In Alzheimer's disease, neurofibrillary tangles

在阿兹海默症中 神经元纤维缠结

are built from a protein known as tau.

来源于一种名为“涛”（Tau）的蛋白

The brain's nerve cells contain a network of tubes

大脑神经细胞包含了一个由很多管道组成的网络

that act like a highway for food molecules

这些管道像是食物分子在其他物质中的

among other things.

高速公路

Usually, the tau protein ensures that these tubes

通常 Tau蛋白会确保这些管道的

are straight, allowing molecules

笔直顺畅 好让各种分子

to pass through freely.

自由通过

But in Alzheimer's disease,

但得了阿兹海默症后

the protein collapses into twisted strands or tangles,

这些蛋白扭曲成一束束或缠结在一起

making the tubes disintegrate,

造成那些管道的分解

obstructing nutrients from reaching the nerve cell

使得营养不能到达神经细胞

and leading to cell death.

从而导致细胞的死亡

The destructive pairing of plaques and tangles

神经斑和神经元纤维缠结的共同作恶

starts in a region called the hippocampus,

始于一个叫做海马体的区域

which is responsible for forming memories.

这个区域专门负责记忆的形成

That's why short-term memory loss

这就是为什么短期记忆丧失

is usually the first symptom of Alzheimer's.

通常是阿兹海默症的第一个症状

The proteins then progressively invade

接着这些蛋白会逐渐侵犯

other parts of the brain,

大脑的其他部位

creating unique changes that signal

阿兹海默症的各个不同阶段的

various stages of the disease.

特殊症状逐渐出现

At the front of the brain,

在大脑前面的部位

the proteins destroy the ability to process logical thoughts.

这些蛋白会破坏逻辑思考的能力

Next, they shift to the region that controls emotions,

接着 它们转移到大脑控制情感的部位

resulting in erratic mood changes.

从而导致不稳定的情绪波动

At the top of the brain,

在大脑顶部

they cause paranoia and hallucinations,

它们会造成妄想症和幻觉

and once they reach the brain's rear,

而一旦它们到达大脑后部

the plaques and tangles work together

神经斑和神经元纤维缠结会共同作用

to erase the mind's deepest memories.

抹去大脑最深处的记忆

Eventually the control centers governing

最终 掌控心跳和呼吸的

heart rate and breathing are overpowered as well

控制中心也会受到侵犯

resulting in death.

并导致死亡

The immensely destructive nature of this disease

阿兹海默症的这种巨大的破坏力

has inspired many researchers to look for a cure

激发了很多研究人员去寻找一个治疗方案

but currently they're focused on slowing its progression.

但是目前他们主要专注于研究如何延缓疾病恶化

One temporary treatment

一个暂时的治疗方案

helps reduce the break down of acetylcholine,

可以减少乙酰胆碱的分解

an important chemical messenger in the brain

乙酰胆碱是大脑里面的一种重要的化学信使

which is decreased in Alzheimer's patients

阿兹海默症病人由于制造乙酰胆碱的神经细胞的死亡

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

而缺乏这种化学信使

Another possible solution is a vaccine

另一个可能的解决方案是一种疫苗

that trains the body's immune system to attack

这种疫苗可以训练身体免疫系统

beta-amyloid plaques before they can form clumps.

在β-淀粉样蛋白斑形成结块之前攻击它们

But we still need to find an actual cure.

不过我们仍然需要找到一种真正的治疗方案

Alzheimer's disease was discovered

阿兹海默症早在

more than a century ago,

一个多世纪以前就已经被发现了

and yet still it is not well understood.

而我们至今却还没有完全了解它

Perhaps one day we'll grasp

也许有一天我们会明白

the exact mechanisms at work behind this threat

这个威胁背后的具体机制

and a solution will be unearthed.

并发现一个解决方案