VOA常速英语:Alzheimer’s Research Focuses on Healthy Older People to Prevent the Debilitating Disease

67 year-old Ivy Segal’s father died from Alzheimer’s at the age of 87.Knowing that the disease can be hereditary, she volunteered to be part of the research project.He passed away from Alzheimer’s disease in 2011, and so it’s close and dear to my heart.The disease is also close to her daughter, Jessica Langbaum, a researcher at Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix.She is leading two studies aimed at finding a way to prevent it.
67岁的艾薇·西格尔的父亲死于阿尔茨海默病，享年87岁。艾薇知道这种疾病是可以遗传的，于是她自愿参加了一项研究项目。他于2011年因阿尔茨海默病去世，这给我的打击非常大。这种疾病也与她的女儿杰西卡·兰鲍姆关系密切，她是菲尼克斯阿尔茨海默病防治研究所的研究员，目前她正带领进行两项研究，旨在找出预防阿尔茨海默病的方法。

We’re enrolling people who are healthy who do not yet have memory and thinking problems associated with Alzheimer’s disease.A sticky plaque amyloid clogs the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.And work is underway to block the plaque formation in healthy people who are at risk for dementia.So this is a demonstration of a group that we know will develop Alzheimer’s disease and then as we get closer to the age at which they might be expected to develop symptoms,you can see that most of the amyloid has already accumulated.The earlier we intervene and we prevent the build-up of that I’m loaded around their brain connections,the more likely that we will have a successful result.
我们招募的参与者身体状况都还很健康，目前还没有出现与阿尔茨海默病相关的记忆力问题和思维问题。淀粉样蛋白斑能够堵塞阿尔茨海默病患者的大脑，我们目前正在进行的工作主要是防治患有痴呆风险的健康人群的斑块形成。这是一个示例，来自于一个我们知道会发展为阿尔茨海默病的群体，随着他们的年龄不断增长，到了越来越可能出现阿尔茨海默病症状的年龄时，你可以看到这里已经累积了大部分淀粉样蛋白斑。我们越早干预治疗，越早防治它们在大脑中的连接，成功的几率就越大。

Clinics in the US and some other countries are working with the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute by signing up healthy participants between the ages of 60 and 75.They get periodic brain scans, memory and thinking tests every six months and experimental drugs or placebos for several years.
美国和其他一些国家的诊所正在与阿尔茨海默病防治研究所合作，鼓励年龄在60岁至75岁之间的健康者参与到这个项目中来。他们每六个月进行一次脑部扫描、记忆和思维测试，并在多年内服用实验性药物或安慰剂。

The volunteers are also checked for the APOE4 gene which raises the possibility of developing Alzheimer’s.Age is the greatest risk factor, the biggest risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease, APOE4 is the second.
志愿者们还进行了APOE4基因检测，该基因能够增加患阿尔茨海默病的可能性。年龄是最大的危险因素，是阿尔茨海默病的最大危险因素，APOE4基因是第二大危险因素。

The participants are required to join gene match, a confidential registry for people from 55 to 75 who want to volunteer for Alzheimer studies but have not been diagnosed with mental decline.Ivy Segel didn’t hesitate to sign up.I want to do whatever I can to help the cause.So far more than 70,000 people have joined the registry.But the researchers say hundreds of thousands more volunteers are needed for Alzheimer’s research.
参与者们还要进行基因匹配，这是为55岁至75岁的人进行的保密登记，这些人自愿接受阿尔茨海默病的研究的志愿者，并且尚未被诊断出有智力减退的症状。艾薇·西格尔毫不犹豫就报名了。我想要尽我所能去帮助治疗这个疾病。目前为止有七万多人参与了这项治疗的志愿工作，但是研究者称对于阿尔茨海默病的研究工作，仍需要成千上万名志愿者的参与。

Deborah Block VOA News
美国之音记者德博拉·布洛克报道