Gregory Petsko: The coming neurological epidemic

Translator: Jenny Zurawell

Reviewer:

Unless we do something to prevent it,

Saihesteko zerbait egiten ez badugu,

over the next 40 years we’re facing an epidemic

hurrengo 40 urteetan, gaixotasun neurologikoen epidemia

of neurologic diseases on a global scale.

jasango dugu mundu mailan.

A cheery thought.

Burutapen alaia...

On this map, every country that’s colored blue

Mapa honetan, nazio urdin bakoitzaren

has more than 20 percent of its population over the age of 65.

populazioaren % 20 baino gehiago 65 urtetik gorakoa da.

This is the world we live in.

Hau da gaur egungo mundua.

And this is the world your children will live in.

Eta hau da zuen seme-alabek biziko dutena.

For 12,000 years, the distribution of ages in the human population

12.000 urtez, populazioaren adin banaketak

has looked like a pyramid, with the oldest on top.

piramidearen itxura izan du, zaharrenak goian zirela.

It’s already flattening out.

Dagoeneko zapaltzen ari da.

By 2050, it’s going to be a column and will start to invert.

2050ean zutabea izango da, eta alderantzikatzen hasiko da.

This is why it’s happening.

Hau da arrazoia.

The average lifespan’s more than doubled since 1840,

1840tik aurrera, bizialdia bikoiztu baino gehiago egin da,

and it’s increasing currently at the rate of about five hours every day.

eta bost ordu luzatzen da egunero, gaur egun.

And this is why that’s not entirely a good thing:

Eta honexegatik ez da guztiz ona:

because over the age of 65, your risk of getting Alzheimer’s

65 urtetik gora, Alzheimerra edota

or Parkinson’s disease will increase exponentially.

Parkinsona hartzeko arriskua esponentzialki hazten dira.

By 2050, there’ll be about 32 million people in the United States

2050. urtean, 80 urtetik gorako 32 milioi pertsona inguru izango dira

over the age of 80, and unless we do something about it,

Estatu Batuetan, eta zerbait egiten ez badugu,

half of them will have Alzheimer’s disease

erdiak Alzheimer gaixotasuna izango du,

and three million more will have Parkinson’s disease.

eta 3 milioi pertsona gehiagok Parkinsona izango du.

Right now, those and other neurologic diseases --

Gaur egun, gaixotasun neurologiko horiek eta antzeko beste batzuk --

for which we have no cure or prevention --

sendabiderik ez dutenak gainera --

cost about a third of a trillion dollars a year.

trilioi bat dolarren herena kostatzen dira urtean, gutxi gorabehera.

It will be well over a trillion dollars by 2050.

2050ean trilioi bat baino gehiago izango dira.

Alzheimer’s disease starts when a protein

Behar bezala tolestu beharko lukeen

that should be folded up properly

proteina bat Origami ero bat bezala tolesten denean

misfolds into a kind of demented origami.

hasten da Alzheimer gaixotasuna.

So one approach we’re taking is to try to design drugs

Lantzen ari garen bideetako bat zinta itsaskor molekular gisa

that function like molecular Scotch tape,

arituko diren medikamentuak diseinatzea da,

to hold the protein into its proper shape.

horiek proteina forma egokian mantendu dezaten.

That would keep it from forming the tangles

Teknika horrek noduluak sortzea eragotziko luke;

that seem to kill large sections of the brain when they do.

izan ere, horrek hiltzen ditu burmuinaren zati handiak.

Interestingly enough, other neurologic diseases

Burmuinaren zati ezberdinak erasotzen dituzten

which affect very different parts of the brain

beste gaixotasun neurologiko batzuk ere

also show tangles of misfolded protein,

tankerako noduluak eragiten dituzte.

which suggests that the approach might be a general one,

Ondorioz, arazoaren konponbidea orokorra izan liteke,

and might be used to cure many neurologic diseases,

eta baliteke gaixotasun neurologiko asko sendatzeko balio izatea,

not just Alzheimer’s disease.

eta ez Alzheimerra bakarrik.

There’s also a fascinating connection to cancer here,

Beste aldetik, minbiziarekiko lotura harrigarri bat dago;

because people with neurologic diseases

izan ere, gaixotasun neurologikoak dituztenen artean

have a very low incidence of most cancers.

oso gutxi dira gainera minbizia dutenak.

And this is a connection that most people aren’t pursuing right now,

Eta gutxi dira bide hori jarraitzen ari diren ikerleak,

but which we’re fascinated by.

baina gu, behintzat, erabat txundituta gaude.

Most of the important and all of the creative work in this area

Eremu horretan egiten ari diren lan garrantzitsuena eta sortzaileena

is being funded by private philanthropies.

diru-emaile pribatuek finantzatzen dute.

And there’s tremendous scope for additional private help here,

Eta laguntza pribatu gehiagoren behar handia dago,

because the government has dropped the ball on much of this, I’m afraid.

gobernuek ikerkuntza baztertu baitute, tamalez.

In the meantime, while we’re waiting for all these things to happen,

Bitartean, hau guztia noiz gertatuko den zain gauden bitartean,

here’s what you can do for yourself.

hona hemen zuk zeuk egin dezakezuna.

If you want to lower your risk of Parkinson’s disease,

Parkinsona jasateko arriskua murriztu nahi baduzu,

caffeine is protective to some extent; nobody knows why.

kafeinak babestu egiten du; inork ez daki zergatik.

Head injuries are bad for you. They lead to Parkinson’s disease.

Buruko zauriak txarrak dira. Parkinsona eragin dezakete.

And the Avian Flu is also not a good idea.

Hegazti gripea ere ez da ideia ona.

As far as protecting yourself against Alzheimer’s disease,

Zure burua Alzeimerraren aurrean babesteko,

well, it turns out that fish oil has the effect

beno, dirudienez, arrain koipea ona da

of reducing your risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzeimerraren arriskua murrizteko.

You should also keep your blood pressure down,

Odol presioa ere baxu mantendu beharko zenuke.

because chronic high blood pressure

Izan ere, odol presio altu kronikoa

is the biggest single risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.

Altzeimerra izateko arrisku faktore garrantzitsuena da.

It’s also the biggest risk factor for glaucoma,

Baita glaukoma izateko arrisku faktorerik handiena ere.

which is just Alzheimer’s disease of the eye.

Glaukoma begiaren Altzeimerra da.

And of course, when it comes to cognitive effects,

Eta, noski, ondorio kognitiboei dagokienez,

"use it or lose it" applies,

«erabili edo galdu» printzipioa da nagusi.

so you want to stay mentally stimulated.

Beraz, burua estimulatzea komeni zaizu.

But hey, you’re listening to me.

Baina, beno! Hemen zaudeten nirekin dagoeneko.

So you’ve got that covered.

Beraz, jadanik lantzen ari zarete aspektu hori.

And one final thing. Wish people like me luck, okay?

Azkeneko ohar bat. Opaiguzue zorte ona ni bezalakoei, ados?

Because the clock is ticking for all of us.

Izan ere, erlojua guztiontzako doa aurrera.

Thank you.

Eskerrik asko.