VOA标准英语2012--Alzheimer's Researchers Switch Focus to Prevention Methods

 

Alzheimer's Researchers Switch Focus to Prevention Methods

As people live longer, there is growing pressure to develop a drug or vaccine¹ that stops dementia.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says setting priorities and coordinating² research now will save time later.

"We've made the first historic investment of funds and a 15 year commitment to prevention and treatment," she said.

In the past, the disease could be diagnosed only by doing an autopsy³ after the patient died. 

Alzheimer's researcher Ronald Petersen says new methods now can provide evidence while the patient is still alive.

"We use biomarkers, various imaging tests, blood tests, spinal⁴ fluid tests that are going to tell us that these are in fact indicators⁵ of what the disease is going to be," he stated.

In images provided by the Banner Alzheimer's Institute in Phoenix⁶, Arizona, you can see the progression of the disease.

Inside the brain of an aging patient, the dark areas are formed by plaques⁷ - made up of the amyloid protein - and tangles⁸ - composed of another protein called tau. The result is a loss of brain cells and neurons responsible for memory and learning.

During a national summit last month on Alzheimer's research, two promising⁹ clinical trials generated a lot of interest. In this trial, patients already showing signs of Alzheimer's are given nasal syringes of insulin that push the drug into the neurons of the brain. 

"Nearly three-quarters of participants showed improvement in memory over the four-month period, a 50 percent improvement," said Dr. Suzanne Craft, who is in charge of the study..

But another study may promise earlier treatment to actually prevent the disease. Two years ago, New York Times reporter Pam Belluck and a photographer traveled to Colombia to visit an extended family afflicted¹⁰ by early onset¹¹ Alzheimer's. Approximately one-third carry a genetic¹² mutation¹³ that brings on the disease while they in their '30s and '40s. Belluck says the healthier, older generation, often cares for younger victims. 

"They may be bedridden. They need to be fed. They may need to be diapered. They're also agitated," Belluck spoke¹⁴ with VOA via Skype.

Early next year, a team of American scientists and Colombian doctors will begin a five-year clinical trial of more than 3,000 members of the family. Not all of the patients carry the genetic marker and some will get a placebo¹⁵.

The head of the American team, Dr. Eric Reiman, says the immunization drug being tested is designed to clear the amyloid quickly from the brain.

"If we intervene sufficiently¹⁶ early before the disease has ravaged¹⁷ the brain, we think these treatments might have their best shot of having a profound effect," he said.

Pam Belluck says the Colombian family members are anxious for something - or someone - to help them. Facing a grim future, many say they are willing to step forward if it will help them and future generations. 

1 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

2 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

3 autopsy   

n.尸体解剖；尸检

参考例句：

• They're carrying out an autopsy on the victim.他们正在给受害者验尸。
• A hemorrhagic gut was the predominant lesion at autopsy.尸检的主要发现是肠出血。

4 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

5 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

6 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

7 plaques   

（纪念性的）匾牌( plaque的名词复数 )； 纪念匾； 牙斑； 空斑

参考例句：

• Primary plaques were detectable in 16 to 20 hours. 在16到20小时内可查出原发溶斑。
• The gondoliers wore green and white livery and silver plaques on their chests. 船夫们穿着白绿两色的制服，胸前别着银质徽章。

8 tangles   

（使）缠结， （使）乱作一团( tangle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Long hair tangles easily. 长头发容易打结。
• Tangles like this still interrupted their intercourse. 像这类纠缠不清的误会仍然妨碍着他们的交情。

9 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

10 afflicted   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
• A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。

11 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。

12 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

13 mutation   

n.变化，变异，转变

参考例句：

• People who have this mutation need less sleep than others.有这种突变的人需要的睡眠比其他人少。
• So far the discussion has centered entirely around mutation in the strict sense.到目前为止，严格来讲，讨论完全集中于围绕突变问题上。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 placebo   

n.安慰剂；宽慰话

参考例句：

• The placebo has been found to work with a lot of different cases.人们已发现安慰剂能在很多不同的病例中发挥作用。
• The placebo effect refers to all the observable behaviors caused by placebo.安慰剂效应是指由安慰剂所引起的可观察的行为。

16 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

17 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。