媒体英语 Experts excited by new brain disease drug 治脑疾病的新药令专家兴奋不已

Play audio file 文字稿 神经退化性疾病是指大脑和脊髓的细胞失去了这些细胞应有的功能，包括做决策和控制肢体活动的能力。这些细胞不容易再生，所以此类疾病对人们的影响是毁灭性的。科学家们希望他们已经找到了一种药物来阻止所有神经退行性脑疾病，包括阿尔茨海默病。请听  James Gallagher  的报道。

A single drug to cure all neurodegenerative diseases is the ambitious aim. Diseases such as Alzheimerm’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s all lead to defective proteins building up in the brain. This makes brain cells shut down their own protein production and eventually starve.

Four years ago, Medical Research Council scientists showed for the first tie, that a drug could force the brain to keep making proteins and stay alive. But their findings were in mice and the compound they used would have been toxic in people.

Now after testing more than a thousand chemicals, they found two that are safe for human use and still protect the brain in animal trials. One of the drugs, Trazadone, is already used as an antidepressant.

Clinical trials are planned, but the findings so far have been described as ‘exciting, important and potentially a major step forward’.

词汇表 cure 治愈

neurodegenerative diseases 神经退化性疾病

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