可以推迟脑退化症和其他痴呆症发生的科学方法

友人转发来如下一文，是美国加州大学 老年中心主任G.Small博士写的文章，及其中文译文。感到：通俗易懂，颇具参考价值。

特介绍于下：

防止大脑退化,值得一读！

下面是美国加州大学 老年中心主任G.Small博士写的文章。

这篇文章通俗易懂，值得广为传阅。

虽然我不是医学方面的人，但也曾参与阿兹海默氏症的研究，稍知皮屑（比毛小得多），为了方便不太熟悉专业名词的朋友们阅读，斗胆把文章译成中文，其中错误难免。

收件人中有不少是资深医生，译错了请立即指正，以免误人，衷心致谢。

阅后若觉得有用，请传送给你关心的所有亲友。

UCLA ( University of California at Los Angeles ) ON ALZHEIMERS

Food for Thought

协助思维的食品

"The idea that Alzheimer's is entirely genetic and unpreventable is perhaps the Greatest misconception about the disease," says Gary Small, M.D., director of The UCLA Center on Aging. Researchers now know that Alzheimer's, like heart Disease and cancer, develops over decades and can be influenced by lifestyle Factors including cholesterol, blood pressure, obesity, depression, education, Nutrition, sleep and mental, physical and social activity.

洛杉矶加州大学老年中心主任Gray Small 博士说：「那种认为脑退化症(译注-阿兹海默氏症-过去亦称老人痴呆症，按香港医务卫生署建议改为脑退化症-下同)完全来自遗传的和不可预防的想法，是对这个病症的最大误解。」，研究人员现在已经明白，脑退化症就像心脏病和癌症，是经年累月发展起来的病症，是受生活方式因素所影响，这些因素包括胆固醇、血压、肥胖、癌症、忧 、教育、营养、睡眠、脑力、体力和社交活动等等。

The big news: Mountains of research reveals that simple things you do every day might cut your odds of losing your mind to Alzheimer's.

好消息：大量的研究指出，只要每日做一些简单小事就有可能把脑退化症发病机会降低。

In search of scientific ways to delay and outlive Alzheimer's and other Dementias, I tracked down thousands of studies and interviewed dozens of Experts. The results in a new book: 100 Simple Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer's and Age-Related Memory Loss (Little, Brown; $19.99). Here are 10 strategies I found most surprising.

为了寻找可以推迟脑退化症和其他痴呆症发生的科学方法，我阅读了过千份报告及访谈了数十名专家。结论就在一本新书：《你能做得到的100件简单事情可以预防脑退化症和与老年有关的痴呆症》。下面是我认为最值得惊喜的10项策略。

1. Have coffee. In an amazing flip-flop, coffee is the new brain tonic. A large European study showed that drinking three to five cups of coffee a day in Midlife cut Alzheimer's risk 65% in late life. University of South Florida Researcher Gary Arendash credits caffeine: He says it reduces dementia-causing amyloid in animal brains. Others credit coffee's antioxidants. So drink up, Arendash advises, unless your doctor says you shouldn't.

1. 喝咖啡。得给咖啡平反，现在认为咖啡是一种新的补脑品。根据欧洲大量研究表明，中年时每日饮3-5杯咖啡，晚年时出现脑退化症的风险可以下降65%。美国南佛罗里达研究人员Gary Arendash 赞许咖啡，他说咖啡可以减少动物脑中的导致失忆的类淀粉含量。其他研究人员则因抗氧化剂的功用给咖啡加分。Arendash劝人多饮咖啡，除非你的医生认为你不宜饮咖啡。

2. Floss. Oddly, the health of your teeth and gums can help predict dementia. University of Southern California research found that having periodontal disease before age 35 quadrupled the odds of dementia years later. Older people with tooth and gum disease score lower on memory and cognition tests, other studies show. Experts speculate that inflammation in diseased mouths migrates to the brain.

2. 牙线。说来也怪，牙齿和牙龈的健康有助于预诊痴呆症。南加州大学研究表明，35岁之前有牙周病的人，老年时患痴呆症的机会比没有的人多四倍。其他研究亦有患牙齿及牙龈病患的长者在记忆力和认知能力测试上得分较低。专家们推测是由于口腔感染炎症向大脑迁移。

3. Google. Doing an online search can stimulate your aging brain even more than reading a book, says UCLA's Gary Small, who used brain MRIs to prove it. The biggest surprise: Novice Internet surfers, ages 55 to 78, activated key memory and learning centers in the brain after only a week of Web surfing for an hour a day.

3. 使用谷歌搜索 (译注- 上网) 加州大学的 Gary Small用核磁共振证实，上网搜索比阅读书本更能刺激长者的大脑。最令人惊讶的是：55-78岁的新手，只要一个星期每日上网一小时，便能活化大脑的主记忆和学习中心。

4. Grow new brain cells. Impossible, scientists used to say. Now it's believed that thousands of brain cells are born daily. The trick is to keep the newborns Alive..
    What works: aerobic exercise (such as a brisk 30-minute walk every day), strenuous mental activity, eating salmon and other fatty fish, and avoiding obesity, chronic stress, sleep deprivation, heavy drinking and vitamin B deficiency.

4 新生大脑细胞。  以前科学家们老是说大脑不可能产生新的细胞。现在却认为大脑每日产生万千个新细胞，关键是怎样使这些新细胞存活。
    方法是：带氧运动（例如每日急散步30分钟），紧张的脑力活动，进食沙文鱼和其他含脂肪高的鱼，避免过胖、慢性应激、剥夺睡眠、酗酒和维生素 B缺乏。

5. Drink apple juice. Apple juice can push production of the "memory chemical" acetylcholine; that's the way the popular Alzheimer's drug Aricept works, says Thomas Shea, Ph.D., of the University of Massachusetts . He was surprised that old mice given apple juice did better on learning and memory tests than mice that received water. A dose for humans: 16 ounces, or two to three apples a day. (Important - apples are heavily sprayed so go for the organic juice)

5.  饮苹果汁。麻萨诸萨斯大学的Thomas Shea博士这样说，苹果汁可以促进「记忆化学物」乙酰胆碱的产生。这也就是治疗脑退化症常用药 Aricept 的作用机理。他用苹果汁饲喂的老龄老鼠比用水饲养的老鼠，在学习和记忆试验中表现得比较优胜。 人类的服食剂量：16安士或每日2-3个苹果。(注意 - 苹果通常喷 大量农药，饮有机果汁较佳)

6. Protect your head. Blows to the head, even mild ones early in life, increase odds of dementia years later. Pro football players have 19 times the typical rate of memory-related diseases. Alzheimer's is four times more common in elderly who suffer a head injury, Columbia University finds. Accidental falls doubled an older person's odds of dementia five years later in another study. Wear seat belts and helmets, fall-proof your house, and don't take risks.

6. 保护头颅。若 头颅受到撞击，那怕是年轻时期的轻度撞击，也会使晚年时痴呆症增加。职业美式足球运动员发生与记忆有关的疾病比常人高19倍。哥伦比亚大学发现，年轻时头部受伤的人得脑退化症的机会是常人的4倍。另一项研究表明意外跌倒受伤，五年后发生痴呆症的机会增加2倍。配戴安全带，戴头盔，家中防滑，不要冒险。

7. Meditate. Brain scans show that people who meditate regularly have less cognitive decline and brain shrinkage - a classic sign of Alzheimer's - as they age. Andrew Newberg of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine says yoga meditation of 12 minutes a day for two months improved blood flow and cognitive functioning in seniors with memory problems.

7. 冥思。脑部扫描显示，经常沉思默想的人，在年龄日长时，脑退化症的典型症状—认知衰退和脑萎缩，比较少。宾夕凡尼亚医学院的Andrew Newberg 说，记忆力有问题的的长者，若每日作12分钟的瑜伽冥想，实践两个月，便可改进血液流通和思考功能。

8. Take vitamin D. A "severe deficiency" of vitamin D boosts older Americans' risk of Cognitive impairment 394%, an alarming study by England 's University of Exeter finds. And most Americans lack vitamin D. Experts recommend a daily dose of 800 IU to 2,000 IU of vitamin D3.

8. 服食维他命 D。英国埃克塞特大学的研究惊人地发现，由于严重缺乏维他命D，美国的长者的认知障碍症急升394%。专家建议 每日服食维他命 D3，800-2000 国际单位。

9. Fill your brain. It's called "cognitive reserve." A rich accumulation of life experiences - education, marriage, socializing, a stimulating job, language skills, having a purpose in life, physical activity and mentally demanding leisure activities - makes your brain better able to tolerate plaques and tangles. You can even have significant Alzheimer's pathology and no symptoms of dementia if you have high cognitive reserve, says David Bennett, M.D., of Chicago 's Rush University Medical Center .

9. 充实大脑，即所谓 "认知储备"。生活经验的累积— 教育、婚姻、社交、具刺激性的工作、语言技巧、生活有目标、要动脑的休闲活动 — 都可以令大脑较好地忍受色斑和 结(译注—色斑 plagues 通常指 amyloid plaques 淀粉质色斑，是在脑退化症患者的大脑所发现的结构异常特征。tangles 是指 neurofibrillary tangles 是脑退化症患者大脑神经原纤维溷乱状态。这两者都是脑退化症患者死后尸剖的诊断依据) 。芝加哥鲁殊大学医学中心的 David Bennet博士认为，如果有丰富的认知，学习知识储备，一个人可以有明显的脑退化症的病理学病徵，但没有痴呆的病状。

10. Avoid infection. Astonishing new evidence ties Alzheimer's to cold sores, gastric ulcers, Lyme disease, pneumonia and the flu., Ruth Itzhaki Ph.D., of the University of Manchester in England estimates the cold-sore herpes simplex virus is incriminated in 60% of Alzheimer's cases. The theory: Infections trigger excessive beta amyloid "gunk" that kills brain cells. Proof is still lacking, but why not avoid common infections and take appropriate vaccines, antibiotics and antiviral agents?

10. 预防感染。英国曼彻斯特大学 Ruth Itzhaki博士新近的证据令人惊讶地证明疱疹，胃溃疡，莱姆病 (译注 - 一种由蜱传播的全身疾病)，肺炎，流感都与脑退化症有密切关系。按他的估计60%脑退化症的元凶是单纯疱疹病毒。理论是：感染激发产生多馀的淀粉样蛋白"煳"从而杀死脑细胞。虽然证据尚未充足，但是为甚麽不注射适合的疫苗、服抗生素、抗病毒药物来避免感染呢？

What to Drink for Good Memory ？A great way to keep your aging memory sharp and avoid Alzheimer's is to drink the right stuff.

喝甚麽来改善记忆？ 饮正确的饮料是保持你的记忆力和避免得脑退化症的好方法。

a. Tops: Juice. A glass of any fruit or vegetable juice three times a week slashed Alzheimer's odds 76% in Vanderbilt University research.Especially protective: blueberry, grape and apple juice, say other studies.

a. 上选：果菜汁。细西州范德堡大学研究结果，一个星期饮三次，每次一杯任何的水果蔬菜汁可以减少76%的脑退化症。 特别有效的是果汁是：蓝莓、葡萄、苹果汁。

b. Tea: Only a cup of black or green tea a week cut rates of cognitive decline in older people by 37%, reports the Alzheimer's Association. Only brewed tea works. Skip bottled tea, which is devoid of antioxidants.

b. 茶。据阿兹海默症协会报告，对长者而言，每星期一杯红茶或绿茶就可以把认知衰退减少37%。但只有热水冲泡新鲜茶叶才有效，不要饮罐装茶，罐装茶没有抗氧化剂。

c. Caffeine beverages. Surprisingly, caffeine fights memory loss and Alzheimer's, suggest dozens of studies. Best sources: coffee (one Alzheimer's researcher drinks five cups a day), tea and chocolate. Beware caffeine if you are pregnant, have high blood pressure, insomnia or anxiety.

c. 含咖啡因饮料。没想到，有数十个研究证实咖啡因可以对抗记忆衰退和脑退化症。最佳选择：咖啡(一名脑退化症研究者一天饮五杯咖啡)，茶、巧格力。但咖啡因对孕妇、高血压患者、失眠症患者、焦躁症患者不宜。

d. Red wine: If you drink alcohol, a little red wine is most apt to benefit your aging brain. It's high in antioxidants. Limit it to one daily glass for women, two for men. Excessive alcohol, notably binge drinking, brings on Alzheimer's.

d. 红酒 : 饮小量红酒对日渐老化的大脑有好处。红酒含大量抗氧化物。妇女一天不可超过一普通玻璃杯，男士两杯300 C.C。(译注 - 我对这一段有怀疑，daily glass 通常是指家庭常用水杯，标准是8安士或250毫升，亦有以500毫升作一杯，一天饮两杯300 C.C红酒是不是太多了罢)过量的酒精，豪饮均可招致脑退化症。

e. Two to avoid: Sugary soft drinks, especially those sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. They make lab animals dumb. Water with high copper content also can up your odds of Alzheimer's. Use a water filter that removes excess minerals.

e. 有两种饮品不可以饮： 含糖高的饮料，特别是果糖含量高的玉米糖浆。它使试验动物反应迟钝。含铜高的水，也可以使患老人痴呆症机会升高。应当使用可以除去多馀矿物质的滤水器。

Ways to Save Your Kids from Alzheimer's. Now Alzheimer's isn't just a disease that starts in old age. What happens to your child's brain seems to have a dramatic impact on his or her likelihood of Alzheimer's many decades later.

不让你们的孩子患上脑退化症的方法。脑退化症不是年纪长大后才会发生。现在对孩子大脑所发生的事情对他们数十年后发生脑退化症有着极大影响。

Here are five things you can do now to help save your child from Alzheimer's and memory loss later in life, according to the latest research.

根据最新研究，现在开始做五件事，就可以减少你的孩子从日后的脑退化症和记忆缺失发生。

1. Prevent head blows: Insist your child wear a helmet during biking, skating, skiing, baseball, football, hockey, and all contact sports. A major blow as well as tiny repetitive unnoticed concussions can cause damage, leading to memory loss and Alzheimer's years later.

1. 预防头颅受撞击坚持要孩子在骑单车、熘冰、打篮球、足球、曲棍球、其他有肢体接触的运动时一定要戴头盔。严重的撞击和虽然不显眼、但重 的脑震荡都会做成伤害，日后会出现脑退化症和记忆缺失。

2 Encourage language skills: A teenage girl who is a superior writer is eight times more likely to escape Alzheimer's in late life than a teen with poor linguistic skills. Teaching young children to be fluent in two or more languages makes them less vulnerable to Alzheimer's.

2. 鼓励学习语言技巧一个有高超写作能力十来岁女孩，能逃过脑退化症的机会是8倍于一个文字语言技巧差的少年。教孩子流利地掌握两三种语言，可让他们不易受脑退化症攻击。

3. Insist your child go to college: Education is a powerful Alzheimer's deterrent. The more years of formal schooling, the lower the odds. Most Alzheimer's prone: teenage drop outs. For each year of education, your risk of dementia drops 11%, says a recent University of Cambridge study.

3. 一定要孩子上大学教育是防止脑退化症的强力武器。在学校越读多几年书，发病机会就越低。多数的脑退化症患者，都是年青时期辍学。剑桥大学近年的研究，多读一年书，脑退化症发病机会下降 11%！

4. Provide stimulation: Keep your child's brain busy with physical, mental and social activities and novel experiences. All these contribute to a bigger, better functioning brain with more so-called 'cognitive reserve.' High cognitive reserve protects against memory decline and Alzheimer's.

4. 提供刺激用体力、脑力、社交活动和新奇的经历使孩子的大脑忙碌起来。所有这些都有利于建立更大更好、更多的 "认知储备"。高认知储备可预妨记忆衰退和脑退化症。

5. Spare the junk food: Lab animals raised on berries, spinach and high omega-3 fish have great memories in old age. Those overfed sugar, especially high fructose in soft drinks, saturated fat and trans fats become overweight and diabetic, with smaller brains and impaired memories as they age, a prelude to Alzheimer's.

5. 拚弃垃圾食品。使用浆果类、菠菜、和奥米加(OMGA) 3 含量高的鱼类饲养的试验动物，在老年时仍保有很好的记忆力。而用含糖高，尤其是含高果糖的饮料，饱和脂肪及反式脂肪 饲料喂饲的，当 们年老时，就有超重，糖尿，大脑体积较细和记忆力受损，这些都是脑退化症.