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当科学家们正慢慢接近并找出阻止老年痴呆症和阿尔兹海默氏症的发生原因时，一条大道通向了早晨的咖啡。 It's likely that many complex factors influence the development of Alzheimer's -- a neurodegenerative disease degrading a person's memory, personality and language skills, but scientists have found clues to halt its development. 可能是由于多种综合性原因，影响着老年痴呆症的发展——这是一种神经系统变性疾病，它使人的记忆退化，降低人格能力和语言表达能力，但是科学家已经发现了阻止其继续发展的线索。 In one paper in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, scientists looked at differences in transgenic mice given caffeine, regular coffee and decaffeinated coffee in their drinking water. 在老年痴呆症杂志收录的一篇论文里，科学家们观察到了经常饮用含咖啡因和不含咖啡因的饮用水的转基因小鼠间的差异。 Previous findings from the same team suggest coffee may ward off dementia, but it wasn't clear whether the effects could be attributable to caffeine or some other compound found in coffee. 从前的研究表明，咖啡可能降低痴呆症风险。但这种效果要归功于咖啡因还是咖啡中的其它复合物，至今还尚不清楚。 Neither caffeine alone nor a decaf version of the beverage provided the same protection as caffeinated coffee. Researchers found that caffeine interacted with an unknown compound in coffee to increase blood levels of a growth factor called GCSF, which helps create neurons in the brain. 不管是单纯的咖啡因还是脱因咖啡饮料都无法起到含咖啡因的咖啡那样的保护作用。研究人员发现，咖啡因与咖啡中一种未知的复合物协同作用可以提高血液中一种叫做GCSF的增长因子，这种因子可帮助制造大脑中的神经原。 Individuals living with the disease have lower levels of GCSF, and other animal studies have shown treatments with the growth factor to improve memory. 而患有这种疾病（痴呆症）的个体血液中的GCSF水平往往较低，而对其它动物的研究却表明治疗并提高这种增长因子可以改善记忆。 Since the mice in the experiment had been triggered to develop Alzheimer's symptoms, they were projected to show a decrease in the GCSF. But mice receiving coffee with caffeine showed higher levels of GCSF and performed better at working memory tests -- something not observed in the other groups. 因为在这个实验中的小鼠已经被引发了阿尔兹海默氏症的特征，它们被有计划的降低GCSF。但是接受了含咖啡因咖啡的小鼠展现了较高水平的GCSF特征，并且在记忆力测试中也表现得更好——在另外的组尚未观察到这种情况。 No cure for Alzheimer's exists, but identifying the compound in coffee that interacts with caffeine to create this added protection against Alzheimer's would be useful in developing treatments. 虽然还没有已经治愈阿尔兹海默氏症的先例存在，但是实验已经在证明这种复合物与咖啡因共同作用增加了抵御阿尔兹海默氏症发生的风险概率，这会对治疗方法的探索有些用处。 The findings bode well for mid-aged and older coffee (not decaf) lovers, but there's reason to be cautious. First, the results were observed in mice that consumed high amounts of the stuff -- the human equivalent to four to five cups per day. Also, the team doesn't claim to provide a sure method to prevent the disease. 这项研究表明这对中老年脱因咖啡爱好者来说是个好事，但仍需小心。首先，在小鼠中观测到实验结果是因消耗了大量的咖啡因——换算成人类身体同比例消耗则为每天4-5杯。并且，这组研究并没有提供一个确定能阻止病症出现的方法。 "We are not saying that daily moderate coffee consumption will completely protect people from getting Alzheimer's disease," said lead researcher Chuanhai Cao in a University of South Florida press release. "However, we do believe that moderate coffee consumption can appreciably reduce your risk of this dreaded disease or delay its onset." “我们不是说每天适度咖啡可保证人们一定能远离老年痴呆症。”这项研究的带头人曹传海在南佛罗里达大学的一篇新闻稿中说，“但是，我们可以相信适度的咖啡消耗可以明显的降低这种风险，或者延迟这种症状的发生。” Though results have been mixed about coffee's effects on human health, the research contributes to a growing body of evidence showing the beverage may not be that bad after all.尽管此结果表明了是咖啡中的混合成分对人体有健康作用，但这项研究仍说明，有证据证明有些饮料对人体并没有想象的那么坏。 Alzheimer's disease affects 5.1 million Americans and a total of 18 million people worldwide, according to the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization. Staying active -- both physically and mentally -- is also known to reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's. 根据国家健康机构和世界健康组织资料显示，阿尔兹海默氏症影响了510万美国人和全世界1800万人。保持活跃——精神上和体力上——也是众所周知的减少老年痴呆症发生的有效方法。 |
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