VOA慢速英語:Memory Decline May Be Earliest Sign of Alzheimer's

From VOA learning English, this is the Health Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語健康報道。

You wake up early one morning to make a meal to take to work and then you forget it. Has this ever happened to you? Or you see your next door neighbour someone you know well but you can not remember his name. Your family doctor says it is nothing to worry about, just a part of getting old. Well, that is true, it might not be the whole story.

某天清晨你早早起床，做了一份便當要帶去公司，后來忘記帶了。這種情況在你身上發(fā)生過嗎?或者你見到一位熟悉的鄰居，但卻想不起他的名字。你的家庭醫(yī)生說，沒事，這只是逐漸衰老的一部分。這沒錯，但事實卻不僅如此。

At a conference two weeks ago, researchers said they now have proved that self-reported minor memory loss sometimes led to greater mental decline six years later. The Alzheimer's Association organized the event.

在兩周前的一次會議上，研究人員稱有證據(jù)表明，自我報告的輕微記憶力減退有時會導致6年后更嚴重的智力衰退。阿爾茨海默病協(xié)會組織了這次會議。

Rebecca Amariglio is a neuropsychologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. She found that individuals who worried about their memory will more likely to suffer a loss of mental ability. Her research shows that such persons were likely to have a protein called beta-amyloid in the brain. Beta-amyloid is suspected of being at least partly involved with Alzheimer's disease.

麗貝卡·阿馬瑞里洛(Rebecca Amariglio)馬塞諸塞州波士頓布里格姆女子醫(yī)院的一名神經(jīng)心理專家。她發(fā)現(xiàn)，那些擔憂自身記憶力者更容易患上心智能力減退。她的研究表明，這類人的大腦中有可能存在一種名為B-淀粉樣蛋白的蛋白質(zhì)。這種蛋白質(zhì)被認為至少和阿爾茨海默病部分相關。

Evidence that the disease develops for an unknown period of time before experts recognize it is leading to a new area of study. It is called subjective cognitive decline. It involves people who sense that their memory and thinking skills are failing before others realize it.

這種疾病產(chǎn)生跡象的時間無從得知，直到專家認識到它引發(fā)了一個新的研究領域。這種跡象被稱為主觀認知能力下降，它包括在他人發(fā)覺之前，自己就感覺記憶力和思維能力下降的人群。

Experts want to inform the public that most people who worry about their mental decline do not develop dementia -- the most commonm form of Alzheimer's. What they are experiencing is truly natural and normal aging.

專家希望提醒大眾，大多數(shù)擔心自己智力下降的人不會患上癡呆，這是阿爾茨海默病最常見的一種形式。他們經(jīng)受的真的是自然、正常的衰老。

Ronald Petersen is a member of the Alzhermer's Association National Board. He says people should be tested if they fear they might have the disease. Doctor Petersen says it is important that subjective cognitive decline be recognized. In his words, it can be a wake-up call for doctors.

羅納德.彼得森(Ronald Petersen)是阿爾茨海默協(xié)會全國委員會委員。他表示，如果人們擔心自己可能會患上該病，就應該去接受檢查。彼得森醫(yī)生表示，診斷主觀認知能力下降非常重要。用他的話來說，這對醫(yī)生來說是一個警示。

"So the doctors do not dismiss somebody when they come in, say, eg. 'Doctor, my memory isn't quite what it used to be.' Again, doesn't mean it's Alzheimer's Diseaser. But it does suggest the physician that he or she needs to ask few more probing questions."

他說，“當有人走進來，比如說，‘醫(yī)生，我的記憶力大不如前’時，醫(yī)生就不會忽視他。再次提醒，不是說這就是阿爾茨海默病。但它確實會提醒醫(yī)生需要詢問病人一些探究性的問題。

He says doctors might ask patients about other issues, like any medicines they are taking and whether they suffer from anxiety, depression or stress. He says all those things can cause changes in memory. At the same time, he says, memory loss could be an early sign of something more serious.

他說，醫(yī)生可能會詢問患者其它一些問題，如他們正在服用什么藥物，是否存在焦慮、抑郁或壓力大。他說，這些都能導致記憶力的變化。與此同時他表示，記憶力減退有可能是一些更嚴重疾病的早期癥狀。

Doctor Peterson describes the recognition of subjective cognitive decline as an important change that will help doctors identify who might be at risk. That way, when therapies are developed, the eariler doctors intervene, the more likely these treatments might be effective. Right now, there is no way to cure Alzheimer's.

彼得森醫(yī)生稱診斷主觀認知能力下降是一個重大變化，它將有助于醫(yī)生確診風險人群。這樣一來，當治療辦法出臺后，醫(yī)生越早干預，療效可能越顯著。目前尚未有治療阿爾茨海默病的有效途徑。