Diagnosing Alzheimer's in the Living

活体检查阿尔茨海默氏病

A new imaging agent that homes in on the gummy plaques and tangles that jam up the brains of Alzheimer patients has allowed doctors to see the disease in a living person for the first time, researchers said Wednesday. The mind-robbing disease, which is always fatal and has no cure, can now only be definitively diagnosed by looking at the brain after a patient has died.

本周三，研究人员说，一种能瞄准阿尔茨海默氏病患者脑损伤混乱团的造影剂，使医生首次能在患者活着时就了解病变情况。这种致命的疾病不但使大脑丧失功能并且无法治疗，现在只能在患者去世后，观察其脑组织变化方可确诊。

IN THE NEW study, the researchers were able to view the messy clumps of dead cells in the brains of nine living Alzheimer's patients. The finding means that Alzheimer's, which affects 4 million Americans and millions more around the world, may be diagnosed in the early stages, when treatments might be able to do some good, said Jorge Barrio of the University of California Los Angeles.

在这项新研究中，研究人员在9位阿尔茨海默病患者脑中看到死亡细胞结成混乱的团块。加尼福尼亚洲落杉矶大学的Jorge Barrio说，该病影响到4百万美国人和全世界成千上万的患者。这项发现意味着医生可以早期诊断该病，此时，治疗可能会有一些帮助。

The method might also be useful in testing whether treatments for Alzheimer's are working, Barrio said.

Barrio说，该方法也可用于检验对阿尔茨海默氏病的治疗是否有效。

But the Alzheimer's Association cautioned that while interesting, the study is too small to draw firm conclusions or change medical practice.

但是阿尔茨海默氏病学会提醒人们，尽管该研究有趣，但刚刚起步，尚不能得出确定的结论或改变医疗实践。

The researchers are specialists in nuclear medicine, which uses radioactive compounds to help make images of the body. They designed and built a molecule called FDDNP.

参与研究的人员是核医学专家，他们使用放射性化合物对人体内部组织进行造影。为此，他们设计和建立了一种叫做FDDNP的分子。

To his surprise, Barrio found that FDDNP had a specific affinity for the neurofibrillary tangles and beta-amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

令Barrio吃惊的是，他发现FDDNP对阿尔茨海默病患者脑中的神经纤维团和β-淀粉样蛋白斑有特别的亲和性。

They tested the compound first in laboratory dishes, then in animals. Writing in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, they said they finally tested it in nine Alzheimer's patients and seven healthy volunteers.

他们首次在实验室中实验这种化合物，然后开展动物实验。他们发表在《美国老年精神病学杂志》上的文章说，他们最终在9位阿尔茨海默病患者和7位健康的志愿者身上做了实验。

After injecting FDDNP, they used positron emission tomography (PET) scans, which can show how tissue is acting by measuring its use of sugar for basic energy.

在为受试者注射FDDNP以后，他们使用了正电子发射x线断层扫描仪，该方法是依据对组织利用糖作为基础能量的测定，来显示组织活动情况。

The scans clearly showed lesions in the areas of the brain associated with Alzheimer's.

该扫描仪清晰地显示出与阿尔茨海默氏病有关的脑部病灶。

Then one of the patients died, and Barrio's team was able to examine the brain. Indeed, the patient had damage in the areas suggested by the scan, and clearly had Alzheimer's.

后来，一位病人去世了，Barrio小组可以直接检查他的脑部。结果，他脑部的病变正如扫描仪所见，有明显的阿尔茨海默氏病变。

"This is a huge step forward in getting a jump on the disease before it progresses to cause brain impairment," Dr. Stephen Bartels, president of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, said in a statement.

美国老年精神病学会主席Stephen Bartels博士在一份报告中说："这是一个巨大的进步，它使我们能在该病发展到脑损伤之前就有所行动。"

Barrio said his team planned to apply to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a license to use the method to check at-risk people for Alzheimer's.

Barrio说他们计划向美国食品和药物管理局提出申请，请求该局批准他们用该方法检查阿尔茨海默病的危险人群。

By the time symptoms of Alzheimer's show up - memory loss, confusion and other problems - a patient already has considerable brain damage, Barrio said.

Barrio说当该病出现症状时，如记忆力丧失、思维混乱等问题，病人已经有相当严重的脑损伤了。

But studies show the disease starts years before, and progresses without showing symptoms . Studies have also shown that people who take aspirin-related drugs regularly have a lower risk of Alzheimer's.

但是研究表明该病在出现症状前许多年就开始了，该病的发展过程没有症状。研究还表明，经常服用与阿斯匹林有关药物的人，较少患此病。