From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle report.
这里是VOA慢速英语《健康与生活方式》报告。
A rare look inside the human brain might help to explain how it clears away waste.
对人类大脑内部的罕见观察可能有助于解释它是如何清除废物的。
Scientists say the failure to clear away such waste can lead to Alzheimer's disease and other brain disorders.
科学家表示,未能清除这些废物可能会导致阿尔茨海默病和其他脑部疾病。
Brain cells use a lot of nutrients.
脑细胞消耗大量营养。
This means they produce a lot of waste.
这意味着它们会产生大量废物。
Scientists believe the brain has special structures to take out this "cellular trash," especially during sleep.
科学家认为,大脑具有特殊的结构来清除这种“细胞垃圾”,尤其是在睡眠期间。
They have reported observing this process happening in mice.
他们报告在小鼠身上观察到了这一过程。
But they had no clear evidence that this happens in humans.
但他们没有明确的证据表明这种情况发生在人类身上。
Recently published research appears to have identified a system, or network, of very small waste-clearing channels in the brains of living humans.
最近发表的研究似乎已经在活体人类大脑中发现了一个非常小的废物清除通道系统或网络。
The researchers used a special kind of imaging technology to study the network.
研究人员使用一种特殊的成像技术来研究网络。
One of the researchers was Dr. Juan Piantino of Oregon Health and Science University.
其中一位研究人员是俄勒冈健康与科学大学的胡安·皮亚蒂诺博士。
Piantino said the new research was important evidence.
皮安蒂诺表示,这项新研究是重要证据。
"We needed this piece to say this happens in humans, too," he said.
“我们需要这篇文章来说明这种情况也发生在人类身上,”他说。
His team recently published its findings in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
他的团队最近在《美国国家科学院院刊》上发表了研究结果。
The brain is very active during sleep.
睡眠期间大脑非常活跃。
During sleeping hours, the brain appears to clean itself.
在睡眠时间,大脑似乎会自我清洁。
That idea has gotten the attention of researchers.
这个想法引起了研究人员的注意。
Losing a good night's sleep can cause people's thinking to be unclear.
睡眠不足会导致人们的思维不清。
But a continuous lack of sleep is believed to increase the risk of the brain disorder dementia.
但据信持续缺乏睡眠会增加患脑部疾病痴呆症的风险。
How does the brain clean itself?
大脑如何自我清洁?
Over 12 years ago, scientists at the University of Rochester first reported finding a network they named the "glymphatic system."
12年前,罗切斯特大学的科学家首次报告发现了一种网络,他们将其命名为“类淋巴系统”。
Fluid from the brain, called cerebrospinal fluid, travels through channels surrounding blood vessels to carry waste out of the brain.
来自大脑的液体,称为脑脊髓液,通过血管周围的通道将废物带出大脑。
Beta-amyloids are substances linked to problems in the brain including Alzheimer's disease.
β-淀粉样蛋白是与包括阿尔茨海默病在内的大脑问题有关的物质。
When scientists injected mice with beta-amyloids, the substance left the brain faster when the animals were sleeping.
当科学家给老鼠注射β -淀粉样蛋白时,这种物质在动物睡觉时离开大脑的速度更快。
It is not clear exactly how the system works.
目前尚不清楚该系统如何运作。
However, some research has shown that the movement of blood vessels might help move the waste-clearing fluid where it needs to go.
然而,一些研究表明,血管的运动可能有助于将废物清除液转移到需要去的地方。
Finding the system in humans is not easy.
在人类身上找到该系统并不容易。
Regular MRI scans can show some of the fluid-filled channels.
定期的核磁共振扫描可以显示一些充满液体的通道。
But Piantino said the scans do not show their purpose.
但皮安蒂诺表示,扫描结果并没有显示其目的。
To find out more, his team at Oregon Health and Science University injected a substance called a tracer into five patients.
为了了解更多信息,他在俄勒冈健康与科学大学的团队向五名患者体内注射了一种名为追踪剂的物质。
The tracer "lit up" during MRI scans.
追踪剂在核磁共振扫描期间“亮起”。
Twenty-four to 48 hours later, the tracer material was seen moving through the brain using the channels as in the earlier research on mice.
24至48小时后,可以看到追踪材料使用通道穿过大脑,就像早期对小鼠的研究一样。
Rochester's Dr. Maiken Nedergaard predicts that the study will increase interest in how brain waste clearance connects to people's health.
罗切斯特大学的梅肯·内德加德博士预测,这项研究将增加人们对脑废物清除与人们健康之间关系的兴趣。
But to test if better sleep or other treatments might really increase waste clearance and improve health,
但杰夫·利夫博士说,为了测试更好的睡眠或其他治疗是否真的能增加废物清除率并改善健康状况,
researchers "have to be able to measure glymphatic function in people," said Dr. Jeff Iliff.
研究人员“必须能够测量人体的淋巴功能”。
He is with the University of Washington and has helped lead waste-clearance research.
他在华盛顿大学工作,帮助领导了废物清理研究。
The question is whether the new study might point to ways of measuring the process.
问题是新研究是否可能指出衡量这一过程的方法。
Sleep is not the only question.
睡眠并不是唯一的问题。
For example, animal studies show that a blood pressure drug now used to treat the stress disorder called PTSD might improve glymphatic clearing.
例如,动物研究表明,现在用于治疗创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)应激障碍的血压药物可能会改善淋巴清理。
Iliff and Dr. Elaine Peskind plan to study this drug in a group of patients.
利夫和伊莱恩·佩斯金博士计划在一组患者中研究这种药物。
Larger studies in healthy people are also needed.
还需要对健康人进行更大规模的研究。
In addition, Piantino, who used tracer chemicals in people, wants to find an easier, noninvasive test to follow the waste clearance.
此外,皮安蒂诺在人体中使用了追踪化学物质,他希望找到一种更简单、非侵入性的测试来跟踪废物清理。
"We cannot study all the questions by injecting people," he said.
“我们无法通过注射人员来研究所有问题,”他说。
And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.
以上就是本期《健康与生活方式》报告的全部内容。
I'm Anna Matteo.
安娜·马特奥为您播报。
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