VOA慢速英语:Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Help Fight Depression(翻译)

Researchers say a number of drugs currently used to treat autoimmune diseases also appear to treat signs of depression.
研究人员表示，当前诸多治疗自身免疫病的药物可用于减轻抑郁症症状。

These medicines are known as anti-inflammatories.They help to reduce inflammation in the body.Inflammation is the pain and expansion, or swelling, of damaged tissue.
这些药也就是人们所知的消炎药。消炎药可缓解人体内的炎症。炎症是体内受损组织在疼痛、扩散或肿胀。

An autoimmune disease is a disease where the body attacks itself.Examples include the skin condition psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes and Crohn’s disease.
自身免疫病是一种机体损害自身组织的疾病。比如，皮肤病牛皮鲜、类风湿性关节炎、一型糖尿病和节段性回肠炎。

White blood cells are part of the body’s natural defense against disease.They help to protect us against infection.In autoimmune diseases, the white blood cells are over-activated.Instead of simply attacking bacteria and viruses, the body’s natural defense system also attacks healthy tissue.
白细胞是人体自然防御疾病的组织。白细胞可帮助我们抵抗感染。若患有自身免疫病，白细胞会过于活跃。人体的自然防御系统不仅会抵抗细菌和病毒，还会损害体内健康的组织。

To treat an autoimmune disease, patients often are told to take anti-inflammatory drugs.Now, a study suggests that the drugs also appear to treat signs of depression.The study also suggests that anti-inflammatory medicines may soon take their place with traditional treatments to help people with this disorder.
病人治疗自身免疫病的方法是服用消炎药。目前研究表明，这种消炎药似乎可以治疗抑郁症。研究还显示，不久，消炎药可取代传统抑郁症治疗方法，以帮助人们对抗抑郁症。

Researchers looked at a number of drug studies that involved patients with autoimmune diseases.They noted an improvement in patients with signs of depression after the research ended.
研究者还调查了大量有关患有自身免疫病患者的药物研究。他们指出，在研究结束后，患者抑郁症状得以改善。

Anti-inflammatory drugs quiet the body’s natural defenses by disarming proteins known as cytokines.These proteins are important in the body’s reaction to inflammation.A small amount of inflammation is necessary to activate the immune system to fight an infection.But too much pain or swelling is harmful.
消炎药可通过平息蛋白质，即人们所熟悉的细胞因子，来安定体内的自然防御系统。这些蛋白质对于机体对炎症做出反应来说很重要。少量炎症对于激活免疫系统以对抗感染来说是十分必要的。不过若造成太多的疼痛或肿胀，伤害就不可避免了。

Golam Khandaker is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.
吴拉姆·孔达可尔是剑桥大学精神病学教授。

“Slow burning inflammation that’s circulating in our body can cause a number of physical and psychiatric conditions.So for example, in the brain, it could lead to increased risks of depression.Similarly in the body, it could lead to increased risk of heart disease,particularly coronary heart disease such as stroke or also type 2 diabetes and type 1 diabetes.”
“缓解我们体内严重的炎症可致许多身体问题和精神问题。比如，在大脑中，它可提升患有抑郁症的风险。同样在人体内，则提升患有心脏病，尤其中风等冠心病的风险，或得二型和一型糖尿病。”

People with autoimmune diseases often suffer from depression.Some earlier studies suggested these people are depressed because of their condition.But the new study suggests that inflammation changes the chemistry of the brain, causing depression.
患有自身免疫病的人通常也遭受着抑郁症的折磨。早期研究显示，这些人会因为他们的身体情况而沮丧。然而，最新研究显示，炎症改变了大脑中的化学结构，导致抑郁。

Antidepressant drugs work to help re-establish the operation of brain chemicals, called neurotransmitters.However, the drugs are not always successful in treating patients with depression.
抗抑郁症药物努力重建大脑中化学物质的活动。然而，这些药物在治疗抑郁症病人方面并非屡获成功。

Anti-inflammatory drugs, which work differently in the brain, give doctors another choice.
消炎药在大脑中承担着不同的工作，给了医生另一个选择。

For the study, Khandaker and his team looked at the results of 20 studies of people treated with anti-inflammatory drugs.These patients had arthritis, psoriasis or Crohn’s disease.
为进行研究，孔达可尔和他的团队调查了20项用消炎药治疗患者的研究结果。这些病人患有关节炎、牛皮癣或节段性回肠炎。

The researchers found that individuals who reported signs of hard-to-treat depression before the study had a mild to moderate reduction in those symptoms after the study.In fact, the results were similar to the effectiveness of antidepressants.
研究发现，那些在研究前患有难以治愈的抑郁症患者，研究结束后症状得以轻微减轻。事实上，结果同抗抑郁药物的效果是相似的。

“And what they showed is that patients who were inflamed at the beginning of the trial showed benefits from the anti-cytokine drug.And the higher the level of inflammation, the greater the improvement in the severity of depressive symptoms.”
“他们表明，在试验初期患有炎症的患者，服用抗细胞因子药物是有效果的。发炎越严重，抑郁症症状越能得到有效的改善。”

The researchers published their findings in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
《分子精神病学杂志》刊登了他们的报道。

Researchers say anti-inflammatory drugs could someday be used in patients with depression for whom other drugs have failed.
研究人员表示，有朝一日，消炎药可以治疗服用其它药物没有效果的抑郁症患者。

Depression will be the second highest cause of disease burden in middle-income countries by the year 2030.This prediction comes from the World Health Organization.
截止2030年，抑郁症将会是中等收入国家中第二大高发疾病困扰。世界卫生组织做出此预测。

For the Health & Lifestyle report, I’m Anna Matteo.
以上是今天的健康生活报道，我是安娜·马泰奥。