英国科学家呼吁人们死后捐赠大脑

Older people in Wales are being urged to think about donating their brains after they die to help scientists researching dementia.

威尔士的老年人正在被敦促考虑在死后捐献他们的大脑，以帮助科学家研究痴呆症。

Researchers at Cardiff University are not actively recruiting at the moment but are still keen to hear from people aged over 85 without a diagnosis.

卡迪夫大学的研究人员目前没有积极招募，但仍然渴望85岁以上而为患该症的人能够联系他们。

While they also recruit donors with dementia as healthy brains are needed for comparisons.

他们还招募痴呆症的捐助者，因为健康的大脑需要进行比较。

Donor Ken Baxter, 75, said: "When I’m finished, it isn’t any use to me."

75岁的捐赠者Ken Baxter说：“我死后，大脑对我没有任何用处。”

Since 2009, 460 people in Wales have signed up, with 79 successful donations made to the Brains for Dementia Research project so far.

自2009年以来，威尔士已有460人报名参加，迄今为止，共有79项成功捐赠给痴呆症研究项目。

They are recruited through its team at the university, which is working to identify which genes contribute to a person’s susceptibility to developing Alzheimer’s disease.

他们是通过其在大学的团队招募的，该团队正在努力确定哪些基因会导致患者易患阿尔茨海默病。

It is hoped they will then be able to predict which people are more likely to get it.

他们希望能够预测哪些人更有可能得此病。

But to do this they need to study human brain tissue, as looking at the distribution of protein deposits on the brain is the only way to get a definitive diagnosis of the disease.

但要做到这一点，他们需要研究人类的大脑组织，因为研究大脑中蛋白质沉积物的分布是获得疾病明确诊断的唯一途径。

While donors who have dementia often find out about brain donation from medical professionals, it can be harder to attract those with healthy brains.

虽然患有痴呆症的捐赠者经常发现医疗专业人员需要脑捐献，但吸引那些健康的大脑更难。

Mr Baxter is one such donor and decided to donate his brain after seeing how dementia affected a friend.

Baxter先生就是这样一位捐助者，在看到老年痴呆症如何影响了他的朋友之后，他决定捐出自己的大脑。

He saw it as a way to help others but admitted he does not always get a positive reaction to his plans.

他认为这是一种帮助他人的方式，但他承认人们对他的计划并不总是很积极。

He said: "’[People say] are you sure? It’s not something I want to do’. And some people are horrified when you tell them - I can’t see a reason why but a lot of people take it the wrong way.

他说：’’[人们说]你确定吗？我就不想那么做’。当你告诉他们时，有些人会感到震惊 - 我不知道为什么，但很多人会认为这不好。”

"They think ’I’ve never thought of that’ - but you’re helping someone. If we can overcome these diseases, so much the better."

“他们认为’我从来没有想过这么做’ - 但是你正在帮助别人，如果我们能克服这些疾病，那就更好了。”

"When I’m finished with it [my brain], it isn’t any use to me," he added.

“当我用完它的时候（我的大脑），它对我来说就没有任何用处了，”他补充道。