VOA常速英语:Eye Test May Reveal Parkinson’s Disease Earlier(翻译)

The new eye test may be a breakthrough for spotting Parkinson’s disease early.Most people may not know they have it for many years because the disease is gradual, causing nerve cell damage in the brain that affects the central nervous system.
新型的视力测试在提早发现帕金森综合征方面取得了突破性进展。大多数人有可能很多年内都不知道自己患有该疾病，因为它的发病是渐缓的，通常会损伤大脑中的神经细胞，继而影响患者的中枢神经系统。

And right now, there is no one test or brain scan that can diagnose the condition.
而现如今，没有任何一种测试或者脑补扫描能够诊断出帕金森综合征。

Using a new imaging technique, the new eye test looks for changes in people’s retinas.It was developed by researchers at the University College London Institute of Ophthalmology.
这种新型的视力测试使用一项新的成像技术，捕捉人体视网膜中发生的变化。该技术是由伦敦大学学院眼科研究所的科研人员开发出来的。

First, scientists injected rats with a chemical that causes Parkinson’s.Once they saw the changes in the retina, they treated the rats with an anti-diabetic drug, that helps protect nerve cells, and which, could potentially be used to treat the disease.
首先，科学家给大鼠注射了一种能导致帕金森症的化学药品。一旦发现视网膜出现变化，就立即给它们喂食一种抗糖尿病药物，帮助保护神经细胞，并有可能用来治疗帕金森症。

“By injecting the Rosiglitazone in these rats we were able to see a rescue effect of Rosiglitazone in this model, first in the eye and then in the brain,” said Normando.
“通过向这些大鼠注射Rosiglitazone，我们能够在该模拟中看到Rosiglitazone的治疗效果，首先是在眼睛里面，其次是在大脑当中，”Normando说道。

It’s not known why people get Parkinson’s, which is estimated to affect one in every 500 people like the late boxer Muhammad Ali.Testing for Parkinson’s in the retina first could have far-reaching implications, said Francesa Cordeiro, an ophthalmologist.
人们到底为什么会患帕金森症至今无解，不过据估计，每500人中就会有一个人罹患此病，比如已故的拳王穆罕默德?阿里。先在视网膜中检测帕金森症可能会获得深远的启示，眼科医师Francesa Cordeiro说道。

“It could predict that, that person needs a second tier of investigations which will decide whether they have Parkinson’s or not, and then you could carry on using this test to monitor, not only how fast they are progressing, but actually, if they are on the correct treatment and that’s huge,” said Cordeiro.
“这种检测可以提前预示人们需要第二层检查，以确诊自己是否患有帕金森症，然后我们就可以继续应用该检测来进行监控，一方面观察患者病情进展如何，另外就是他们有没有接受正确的治疗，这点非常重要，”Cordeiro如是说。

Human trials for the Parkinson’s eye test are to begin soon.
帕金森视力测试很快就要进行人体试验了。

“If you’ve seen the effects in the retina well before you see those effects in the brain, then actually you could shorten the length of clinical trials, and you could use this as a very good marker of treatment of success. But in the long run, what we think is that it could be a way of trying to see if patients are ever going to get Parkinson’s disease," said Cordeiro.
“如果你在看到大脑中所起的效果之前，提前在视网膜中看到变化，那事实上，这时候便可以缩短临床试验的时间了，你可以把这当做是治疗成功的一个重要标志。不过长远来说，我们考虑到的是，如果我们想要知道患者将来是否会患上帕金森症，视力测试确实是一个方法，”Cordeiro说道。

And that could lead to better treatment for the debilitating disease in the future -- with testing possibly being done during a regular eye check-up.
未来罹患这种衰竭性疾病的人将会得到更好的治疗——如果我们在做常规视力检查的时候也可以获得这种新型的测试。

Deborah Block, VOA news, Washington
Deborah Block，VOA news，华盛顿