1月6日午间英语新闻：科学家开发出诊断阿尔茨海默病的血液检测法

> Scientists develop blood test for Alzheimer’s disease

科学家开发出诊断阿尔茨海默病的血液检测法

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, but diagnosis remains challenging – particularly during the earlier stages of the disease. Scientists have developed a blood test to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease without the need for expensive brain imaging or a painful lumbar puncture, where a sample of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is drawn from the lower back. If validated, the test could enable faster diagnosis of the disease, meaning therapy could be initiated earlier.

阿尔茨海默症是最常见的痴呆症，但诊断仍具有难度，尤其是在疾病的早期阶段。科学家们开发出一种可诊断阿尔茨海默病的新型血液检测，无需进行昂贵的脑部影像检查或痛苦的腰椎穿刺（从下背部抽取脑脊液样本）。如果该检测方法得到验证，阿尔兹海默症可以得到更快诊断，这意味着可以尽早开始治疗。

Current guidelines recommend detection of three distinct markers: abnormal accumulations of amyloid and tau proteins, as well as neurodegeneration – the slow and progressive loss of neuronal cells in specified regions of the brain. This can be done through a combination of brain imaging and CSF analysis. However, a lumbar puncture can be painful and people may experience headaches or back pain after the procedure, while brain imaging is expensive and takes a long time to schedule.

目前的医学指南建议检测三种不同的标志物：淀粉样蛋白、Tau蛋白的异常积累，以及神经变性（大脑特定区域神经元细胞的缓慢和渐进性丧失）。以上标志物检测可以结合脑成像和脑脊液分析来完成。然而，腰椎穿刺可能会很痛苦，术后患者可能会感到头痛或背痛，而脑部成像费用昂贵，需要等待很长时间。

Prof Thomas Karikari at the University of Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania, US, who was involved in the study, said: “A lot of patients, even in the US, don’t have access to MRI and PET scanners. Accessibility is a major issue.”

参与研究的美国宾夕法尼亚州匹兹堡大学教授托马斯·卡里卡里表示：“很多患者，甚至在美国，都没有机会进行核磁共振成像和PET扫描仪检查。这些检查不够普及是主要问题。”

The development of a reliable blood test would be an important step forward. “A blood test is cheaper, safer and easier to administer, and it can improve clinical confidence in diagnosing Alzheimer’s and selecting participants for clinical trials and disease monitoring,” Karikari said.

开发可靠的血液测试将是一个重要的进步。卡里卡里说：“血检更经济、安全、更容易实施，可以提高诊断阿尔茨海默病的临床信心，并为临床试验和疾病监测征选研究对象。”

Although current blood tests can accurately detect abnormalities in amyloid and tau proteins, detecting markers of nerve cell damage that are specific to the brain has been difficult. Karikari and his colleagues around the world focused on developing an antibody-based blood test that would detect a particular form of tau protein called brain-derived tau, which is specific to Alzheimer’s disease.

尽管目前的血液检测可以准确检测淀粉样蛋白和tau蛋白的异常，但检测大脑特有的神经细胞损伤的标志物一直比较困难。卡里卡里和他在世界各地的同事致力于开发一种基于抗体的血液测试，该测试将检测一种特殊形式的Tau蛋白，被称为脑源性Tau蛋白。这种蛋白是阿尔茨海默病患者特有的。

They tested it in 600 patients at various stages of Alzheimer’s and found that levels of the protein correlated well with levels of tau in the CSF, and could reliably distinguish Alzheimer’s from other neurodegenerative diseases. Protein levels also closely corresponded with the severity of amyloid plaques and tau tangles in brain tissue from people who had died with Alzheimer’s. The research was published in the journal Brain.

研究人员在600名处于不同阶段的阿尔茨海默病患者身上进行了测试，发现脑源性Tau蛋白的水平与脑脊液中的Tau蛋白水平有很大的相关性，能可靠地将阿尔茨海默病与其他神经退行性疾病区分开来。脑源性Tau蛋白质水平还与阿尔茨海默病患者脑组织中的淀粉样斑块和Tau蛋白缠结的严重程度密切相关。这项研究发表在《大脑》杂志上。

The next step will be to validate the test in a broader range of patients, including those from varied racial and ethnic backgrounds, and those suffering from different stages of memory loss or other potential dementia symptoms. Karikari also hopes that monitoring levels of brain-derived tau in the blood could improve the design of clinical trials for Alzheimer’s treatments.

下一步研究将在更广泛的患者中验证该血液测试，包括来自不同种族和民族背景的患者，以及那些患有记忆丧失或其他潜在痴呆症状的不同阶段患者。卡里卡里还希望，通过监测血液中脑源性Tau蛋白水平，可以改善阿尔茨海默病治疗的临床试验设计。

重点词汇

1、dementia

英/ dɪˈmenʃə /

美/ dɪˈmenʃə /

n.痴呆，精神错乱

2、lumbar puncture
英/ ˈlʌmbə pʌŋktʃə(r) /
[医]腰椎穿刺（等于 spinal tap）

3、drawn
英/ drɔːn /
美/ drɔːn /
adj.（因身体不适、疲倦或忧虑）憔悴的，苍白的
v.画，绘制；拖，拉；拔出；排出（液体）（draw 的过去分词）

4、amyloid
英/ ˈæmɪlɔɪd /
美/ ˈæmɪˌlɔɪd /
n.淀粉样蛋白，类淀粉的复杂蛋白质；淀粉性变样
adj.类淀粉的

5、correlated
英/ ˈkɒrəleɪtɪd /
美/ ˈkɔːrəleɪtɪd /
adj.有相互关系的
v.（使）相关联；（使）相互对照（correlate 的过去分词）

6、dementia
英/ dɪˈmenʃə /
美/ dɪˈmenʃə /
n.痴呆，精神错乱

> Final farewell for Pele, Brazil's football 'King'
最后一别！“球王”贝利遗体告别仪式举行

Brazilians bid a final farewell this week to football giant Pele, starting Monday with a 24-hour public wake at the stadium of his long-time team, Santos. Stadium doors will open at 10:00 am local time. The coffin bearing the remains of the only player to have won three World Cups will be displayed in the center of the field.
本周，巴西人向世界足坛的传奇、“球王”贝利做最后的道别。自当地时间1月2日起，贝利生前长期效力的桑托斯队主场举行了为时24小时的遗体告别仪式。体育场于当地时间上午10点开门，这位足坛历史上唯一三夺世界杯冠军的球员的灵柩被安放在体育场的中央。

Entry to the stadium will be allowed until 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, officials said. After that, a procession will be held through the streets of Santos. The parade will pass the house of Pele's mother, 100-year-old Celeste Arantes. The procession will end at a cemetery in Santos, where Pele will be interred in a special mausoleum.
据官员们介绍，公众可以在周二（1月3日）上午10点前进入体育场内进行吊唁。之后，灵车将载着贝利的棺椁在桑托斯市缓慢游行，并将经过贝利百岁母亲塞莱斯特·阿兰特斯的居所。游行最终将抵达桑托斯市的一座公墓，贝利将被安葬在一处特殊的墓中。

Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele is widely considered to have been the best player yet of the beautiful game. He scored 1,283 goals in a career of 21 years, most of them played at Santos. His death sparked a global outpouring of tributes, with his native country Brazil holding three days of national mourning.
贝利原名埃德松·阿兰特斯·多·纳西门托，被公认为迄今为止足坛最优秀的运动员。在21年的职业生涯的中，贝利攻入了1283粒进球，其中多数进球是在他效力桑托斯队期间打入的。世界各地的人纷纷对贝利的离世表示悼念，巴西也为此举行了3天哀悼。

重点词汇
1、stadium
英/ ˈsteɪdiəm /
美/ ˈsteɪdiəm /
n.体育场，运动场；（古希腊或古罗马的）竞走跑道，战车赛道；斯塔德（古希腊或古罗马长度单位，约185米）

2、coffin
英/ ˈkɒfɪn /
美/ ˈkɔːfɪn /
n.棺材
vt.把（尸体）装入棺材；收殓

3、procession
英/ prəˈseʃ(ə)n /
美/ prəˈseʃ(ə)n /
n.（人或车辆的）行列，队伍；一连串的人（或物）；（神学）圣灵流出

4、mausoleum
英/ ˌmɔːsəˈliːəm /
美/ ˌmɔːsəˈliːəm /
n.陵墓；阴森森的大厦

5、tribute
英/ ˈtrɪbjuːt /
美/ ˈtrɪbjuːt /
n.（表示敬意的）礼物，颂辞，行为；（良好效果或影响的）体现，显示；（尤指旧时一国向他国交纳的）贡品，贡金；<史>（用于支付矿工工资，或给矿厂主、出租人的）矿石份子
adj.（尤指团体或音乐家）（通过模仿）表演著名乐曲的