HEALTH REPORT - New Alzheimer's Drugs Tested

HEALTH REPORT - New Alzheimer's Drugs Tested
By Cynthia Kirk

Broadcast: Wednesday, August 04, 2004

This is Phoebe Zimmermann with the VOA Special English Health Report.

Researchers say two experimental drugs may be able to slow or even stop the progress of Alzheimer's disease. This condition kills brain cells. People over the age of sixty-five have an increased risk of developing it. So do people with a family history of the disease.

Scientists announced new findings during an international conference last month in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Alzheimer's Association organized the meeting.

The new experimental drugs are designed to interfere¹ with a protein called beta-amyloid. This protein sticks together. It forms areas of plaque² found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. Many scientists believe it kills brain cells.

Scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., tested a drug called Alzhemed. The study involved two groups of people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. One group took Alzhemed. The other took an inactive substance. Neither group knew which one they got.

The scientists say the group treated with the drug had a sharp drop in the level of beta-amyloid in spinal³ fluid from the brain. No changes were reported in the other group.

Doctor Paul Aisen led the study. He said people who started with mild Alzheimer's suffered no further memory loss after a year on the drug. He said there were no serious side effects. This drug is now in final testing.

The other experimental drug is a compound known as l-y-four-five-oh-one-three-nine. This is designed to block the formation of enzymes⁴ that produce beta-amyloid. Researchers from Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, Indiana, led this study. It involved thirty-seven healthy adults over forty-five years old.

The researchers say levels of beta-amyloid in the blood fell after the group took the experimental drug for two weeks. They say greater amounts of the drug led to greater reductions.

Experts say more than fifteen million people around the world have Alzheimer's disease. These include four million Americans. Scientists are not sure what causes it. But they believe that genetic⁵ and environmental influences are both involved.

Alzheimer's disease begins with mild memory loss. It gets worse and worse, until it robs people of their mind. Current drugs mostly treat only the signs of the condition. But they do not stop the disease or cure it.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Phoebe Zimmermann.

1 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

2 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。

3 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

4 enzymes   

n. 酶，酵素

参考例句：

• It was said that washing powders containing enzymes remove stains more efficiently. 据说加酶洗衣粉除污更有效。
• Among the enzymes which are particularly effective are pepsin, papain. 在酶当中特别有效的是胃朊酶、木瓜酶。

5 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。