VOA标准英语2011-Dementia Screening May be Possible with B

New research suggests a relatively¹ simple blood test might make it possible to predict who is at a higher risk for developing dementia.

The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer's Disease, and currently, it can only be definitively² diagnosed in an autopsy³, by examining the brain. Beta-amyloid is a protein that shows up the brains of Alzheimer's victims. It's also present in spinal⁴ fluid and, in very small quantities, in the blood.

In a new report, researchers used nine years of data gathered on individuals who showed no sign of dementia when they started the study. Blood samples taken at the beginning of the study were compared with dementia scores at the end of the trial.

Professor Kristine Yaffe of the University of California, San Francisco, says the less beta-amyloid in a person's blood, the higher their risk of dementia "because the idea is that it's clumping⁵ up or building in the brain. Therefore it's somehow lower when you measure it outside the brain."

Yaffe and her colleagues also found that people with low levels of beta-amyloid - what she calls an "at-risk signature" - tended to avoid dementia if they had more education or were mentally active.

There are no effective medical treatments to prevent Alzheimer's Disease. But she says this finding suggests that there might be a good reason to learn if you are at higher risk of dementia.

"You might be able to do something about it by using your brain more, exercising your brain, and really revving⁶ up the brain's plasticity to maybe withstand what might be an at-risk signature."

Yaffe's study is published in the journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA.

1 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

2 definitively   

adv.决定性地，最后地

参考例句：

• None of the three super-states could be definitively conquered even by the other two in combination. 三个超级国家中的任何一国都不可能被任何两国的联盟所绝对打败。 来自英汉文学
• Therefore, nothing can ever be definitively proved with a photograph. 因此，没有什么可以明确了一张照片。 来自互联网

3 autopsy   

n.尸体解剖；尸检

参考例句：

• They're carrying out an autopsy on the victim.他们正在给受害者验尸。
• A hemorrhagic gut was the predominant lesion at autopsy.尸检的主要发现是肠出血。

4 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。

5 clumping   

v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的现在分词 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声

参考例句：

• Wipe the wand off before the first coat to prevent clumping. 把睫毛棒刷干净，避免结块。 来自互联网
• Fighting gravitational clumping would take a wavelength of a few dozen light-years. 为了对抗重力造成的聚集，这些粒子的波长可能会长达好几十光年的距离。 来自互联网

6 revving   

v.（使）加速( rev的现在分词 )；（数量、活动等）激增；（使发动机）快速旋转；（使）活跃起来

参考例句：

• The team are revving up for next week's game. 这个队伍对下周的比赛跃跃欲试。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Since the introduction of new techniques, the production has been revving up. 自从新技术的引进，产量一直都在增加。 来自互联网