Alzheimer’s Is Not Normal Aging — And We Can Cure It | Samuel Cohen | TED Talks

Prevoditelj: Sonja Žarić Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

In the year 1901,

1901. godine,

a woman called Auguste was taken to a medical asylum in Frankfurt.

žena pod imenom Auguste je dovedena u medicinsko utočište u Frankfurtu.

Auguste was delusional

Auguste je bila u bunilu

and couldn't remember even the most basic details of her life.

i nije se mogla sjetiti najosnovnijih detalja svog života.

Her doctor was called Alois.

Ime njezinog liječnika je bilo Alois.

Alois didn't know how to help Auguste,

Alois nije znao kako pomoći Auguste,

but he watched over her until, sadly, she passed away in 1906.

ali ju je promatrao dok, nažalost, nije umrla 1906. godine.

After she died, Alois performed an autopsy

Nakon što je umrla, Alois je napravio autopsiju

and found strange plaques and tangles in Auguste's brain --

i pronašao čudne plakove i petlje u Augustinom mozgu --

the likes of which he'd never seen before.

kakve nikad prije nije vidio.

Now here's the even more striking thing.

Evo još upadljivije stvari.

If Auguste had instead been alive today,

Da je Auguste živjela u današnje doba,

we could offer her no more help than Alois was able to 114 years ago.

ne bi joj mogli pomoći više nego Alois prije 114 godina.

Alois was Dr. Alois Alzheimer.

Alois je bio dr. Alois Alzheimer.

And Auguste Deter

A Auguste Deter

was the first patient to be diagnosed with what we now call Alzheimer's disease.

prva pacijentica kojoj je dijagnosticirano ono što danas nazivamo Alzheimerova bolest.

Since 1901, medicine has advanced greatly.

Od 1901. godine medicina je mnogo napredovala.

We've discovered antibiotics and vaccines to protect us from infections,

Otkrili smo antibiotike i cjepiva koje nas štite od infekcija,

many treatments for cancer, antiretrovirals for HIV,

mnoge postupke za liječenje raka, antiretroviruse za HIV,

statins for heart disease and much more.

stotine za bolesti srca i mnogo više.

But we've made essentially no progress at all in treating Alzheimer's disease.

No, nismo nimalo napredovali u liječenju Alzheimerove bolesti.

I'm part of a team of scientists

Ja sam dio tima znanstvenika

who has been working to find a cure for Alzheimer's for over a decade.

koji više od desetljeća rade na tome da pronađu lijek za Alzheimerovu bolest.

So I think about this all the time.

Tako da ja razmišljam o tome cijelo vrijeme.

Alzheimer's now affects 40 million people worldwide.

Alzheimerova bolest trenutno pogađa 40 milijuna ljudi diljem svijeta.

But by 2050, it will affect 150 million people --

A do 2050. godine, pogađat će 150 milijuna ljudi --

which, by the way, will include many of you.

što će, usput, uključivati mnoge od vas.

If you're hoping to live to be 85 or older,

Ako se nadate doživjeti više od 85 godina,

your chance of getting Alzheimer's will be almost one in two.

šansa da ćete dobiti Alzheimerovu bolest je skoro jedan prema dva.

In other words, odds are you'll spend your golden years

Drugim rječima, izgledi su da ćete provesti svoje zlatne godine

either suffering from Alzheimer's

bolujući od Alzheimerove bolesti

or helping to look after a friend or loved one with Alzheimer's.

ili pomažući u skrbi za prijatelja ili voljenu osobu koja boluje od iste bolesti.

Already in the United States alone,

Dosad samo u SAD-u,

Alzheimer's care costs 200 billion dollars every year.

troškovi skrbi za oboljele od Alzheimerove bolesti iznose 200 milijardi svake godine.

One out of every five Medicare dollars get spent on Alzheimer's.

Jedan od svakih pet Medicare dolara odlazi na Alzheimera.

It is today the most expensive disease,

Ovo je najskuplja bolest današnjice,

and costs are projected to increase fivefold by 2050,

a predviđa se peterostruko povećanje troškova do 2050. godine,

as the baby boomer generation ages.

kako baby boom generacija stari.

It may surprise you that, put simply,

Možda vas iznenađuje, jednostavno rečeno,

Alzheimer's is one of the biggest medical and social challenges of our generation.

da je Alzheimerova bolest jedan od najvećih medicinskih i društvenih izazova naše generacije.

But we've done relatively little to address it.

A relativno smo malo napravili povodom toga.

Today, of the top 10 causes of death worldwide,

U današnje vrijeme, od prvih 10 uzroka smrti diljem svijeta,

Alzheimer's is the only one we cannot prevent, cure or even slow down.

Alzheimerova bolest je jedina koju ne možemo sprječiti, izliječiti ili pak usporiti.

We understand less about the science of Alzheimer's than other diseases

Znanost iza Alzheimera razumijemo manje nego ijednu drugu bolest

because we've invested less time and money into researching it.

jer smo uložili manje vremena i novca u njeno istraživanje.

The US government spends 10 times more every year

Vlada SAD-a potroši 10 puta više svake godine

on cancer research than on Alzheimer's

na istraživanje raka u odnosu na Alzheimerovu bolest

despite the fact that Alzheimer's costs us more

usprkos činjenici da je Alzheimerova bolest skuplja

and causes a similar number of deaths each year as cancer.

i uzrokuje sličan broj smrti svake godine kao i rak.

The lack of resources stems from a more fundamental cause:

Nedostatak resursa proizlazi iz osnovnijeg uzroka:

a lack of awareness.

nedostatak osvještenosti.

Because here's what few people know but everyone should:

Evo, što malo ljudi zna, a svi bi trebali znati:

Alzheimer's is a disease, and we can cure it.

Alzheimerovu bolest možemo izliječiti.

For most of the past 114 years,

Većim dijelom posljednjih 114 godina,

everyone, including scientists, mistakenly confused Alzheimer's with aging.

svi su, uključujući znanstvenike, zabunom zamijenili Alzeheimera za starenje.

We thought that becoming senile

Mislili smo da je postati senilan

was a normal and inevitable part of getting old.

normalan i neizbježan dio starenja.

But we only have to look at a picture

No, treba smo pogledati sliku

of a healthy aged brain compared to the brain of an Alzheimer's patient

zdravo ostarjelog mozga u odnosu na mozak Alzheimerovog pacijenta

to see the real physical damage caused by this disease.

da bi se vidjelo stvarno fizičko oštećenje od ove bolesti.

As well as triggering severe loss of memory and mental abilities,

Uz pokretanje ozbiljnog gubitka pamćenja i mentalnih sposobnosti,

the damage to the brain caused by Alzheimer's

oštećenje mozga posljedicom Alzheimerove bolesti

significantly reduces life expectancy and is always fatal.

znatno smanjuje očekivanu životnu dob i uvijek je smrtonosno.

Remember Dr. Alzheimer found strange plaques and tangles

Zapamtite da je Dr. Alzheimer pronašao čudne plakove i petlje

in Auguste's brain a century ago.

u Augustinom mozgu prije jednog stoljeća.

For almost a century, we didn't know much about these.

Skoro cijelo stoljeće, nismo znali mnogo o njima.

Today we know they're made from protein molecules.

Danas znamo da ih sazdaju molekule proteina.

You can imagine a protein molecule

Možete zamisliti molekulu proteina

as a piece of paper that normally folds into an elaborate piece of origami.

kao komad papira koji se normalno može saviti u složen komad origamija.

There are spots on the paper that are sticky.

Pojedine točke na papiru su ljepljive.

And when it folds correctly, these sticky bits end up on the inside.

Kad ga se presavije točno, ti ljepljivi djelovi završe u unutrašnjosti.

But sometimes things go wrong, and some sticky bits are on the outside.

No, ponekad, stvari pođu po zlu, i neki ljepljivi dijelovi završe na vanjskoj strani.

This causes the protein molecules to stick to each other,

Ovo uzrokuje da se molekule proteina međusobno spoje,

forming clumps that eventually become large plaques and tangles.

stvarajući grumenje koje naposljetku postanu veliki plakovi i petlje.

That's what we see in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

To je ono što vidimo u mozgu pacijenta Alzheimerove bolesti.

We've spent the past 10 years at the University of Cambridge

Posljednjih 10 godina na Sveučilištu Cambridge smo proveli

trying to understand how this malfunction works.

pokušavajući razumijeti kako ove neispravnosti funkcioniraju.

There are many steps, and identifying which step to try to block is complex --

Postoji mnogo koraka, a identifikacija koji korak treba blokirati je složena --

like defusing a bomb.

kao razoružavanje bombe.

Cutting one wire might do nothing.

Presjecanje jedne žice možda ne napravi ništa.

Cutting others might make the bomb explore.

Presjecanje nekih drugih možda aktivira bombu.

We have to find the right step to block,

Moramo pronaći pravi korak koji treba blokirati,

and then create a drug that does it.

i onda stvoriti lijek koji to radi.

Until recently, we for the most part

Donedavno, većinom smo

have been cutting wires and hoping for the best.

presjecali žice i nadali se najboljem.

But now we've got together a diverse group of people --

No, sada smo okupili raznovrsnu grupu ljudi --

medics, biologists, geneticists, chemists, physicists, engineers and mathematicians.

liječnike, biologe, genetičare, kemičare, fizičare, inženjere i matematičare.

And together, we've managed to identify a critical step in the process

I zajedno smo uspjeli identificirati kritičan korak u procesu

and are now testing a new class of drugs which would specifically block this step

i sada testiramo novu klasu lijekova koja bi blokirala posebno taj korak

and stop the disease.

i zaustavila bolest.

Now let me show you some of our latest results.

Sada ću vam pokazati neke od posljednjih rezultata.

No one outside of our lab has seen these yet.

Nitko izvan našeg laboratorija ih nije još vidio.

Let's look at some videos of what happened when we tested these new drugs in worms.

Pogledajmo neke snimke što se dogodi kada testiramo ove nove lijekove na crvima.

So these are healthy worms,

Ovo su zdravi crvi,

and you can see they're moving around normally.

i kao što možete vidjeti kreću se normalno.

These worms, on the other hand,

Ovi crvi, s druge strane,

have protein molecules sticking together inside them --

imaju molekule proteina koje se iznutra spajaju --

like humans with Alzheimer's.

kao kod ljudi koji boluju od Alzheimera.

And you can see they're clearly sick.

I vidite da su očigledno bolesni.

But if we give our new drugs to these worms at an early stage,

No, ako damo naš novi lijek ovim crvima u ranoj fazi,

then we see that they're healthy, and they live a normal lifespan.

vidimo da su zdravi i imaju normalni život vijek.

This is just an initial positive result, but research like this

Ovo su samo početni pozitivni rezultati, no istraživanje poput ovog

shows us that Alzheimer's is a disease that we can understand and we can cure.

nam pokazuje da je Alzheimer bolest koju možemo razumjeti i izliječiti.

After 114 years of waiting,

Nakon 114 godina čekanja,

there's finally real hope for what can be achieved

napokon postoji stvarna nada koju možemo dostići

in the next 10 or 20 years.

u sljedećih 10 ili 20 godina.

But to grow that hope, to finally beat Alzheimer's, we need help.

No, da bi ta nada narasla, da bi konačno pobjedili Alzeimerovu bolest, trebamo pomoć.

This isn't about scientists like me --

Ovdje se ne radi o znanstvenicima poput mene --

it's about you.

nego o vama.

We need you to raise awareness that Alzheimer's is a disease

Trebamo vas da proširite svijest o tome da je Alzheimer bolest

and that if we try, we can beat it.

i da ako se budemo trudili, možemo ju pobjediti.

In the case of other diseases,

U slučaju drugih bolesti,

patients and their families have led the charge for more research

pacijenti i njihove obitelji su preuzeli vodstvo za više istraživanja

and put pressure on governments, the pharmaceutical industry,

i pritisnuli vlade, farmaceutsku industriju,

scientists and regulators.

znanstvenike i regulatore.

That was essential for advancing treatment for HIV in the late 1980s.

To je bilo esencijalno pri napretku u liječenju HIV-a kasnih 1980-tih godina.

Today, we see that same drive to beat cancer.

Danas, vidimo jednaku akciju protiv raka.

But Alzheimer's patients are often unable to speak up for themselves.

No, Alzheimerovi pacijenti često ne mogu pričati u svoje ime.

And their families, the hidden victims, caring for their loved ones night and day,

A njihove obitelji, skrivene žrtve, koje skrbe o svojim voljenima danonoćno,

are often too worn out to go out and advocate for change.

su često preiscrpljeni da bi izašli i zagovarali promjenu.

So, it really is down to you.

Tako da je na vama.

Alzheimer's isn't, for the most part, a genetic disease.

Alzheimer nije, većim dijelom, genetska bolest.

Everyone with a brain is at risk.

Svatko sa mozgom je pod rizikom.

Today, there are 40 million patients like Auguste,

Danas, postoji 40 milijuna pacijenata poput Auguste,

who can't create the change they need for themselves.

koji ne mogu stvarati promjenu koja im je potrebna.

Help speak up for them,

Pomozite podići glas za njih,

and help demand a cure.

i pomozite zahtjevati lijek.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)