VOA标准英语2009年-President Reagan's Son Advocates for A

Faiza Elmasry | Washington, DC 03 December 2009 In 1994, President Ronald Reagan wrote a letter telling the world he had Alzheimer's disease

When former President Ronald Reagan designated November as National Alzheimer's Awareness¹ month in 1983, roughly 2 million Americans had the fatal brain-wasting disease. Today, 15 years after Mr. Reagan himself was diagnosed with it, and five years after his death, more than 5 million Americans are struggling with Alzheimer's.  The number of victims and the cost of their extended care are expected to increase. Experts say raising awareness about Alzheimer's is a key to winning the fight against this disease.

Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia. It attacks the brain's nerve cells, robs memory and impairs² thinking and language skills. It's currently the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.

"Every 70 seconds, somebody is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease," says Michael Reagan, popular radio talk show host and son of former President Ronald Reagan, probably the most famous victim of Alzheimer's. 

Alzheimer's as a family affair

Reagan says almost from the time his father first learned he was ill, he has been part of a national campaign to raise public awareness about this devastating³ and heartbreaking illness.

Michael Reagan says his father's painful struggle with Alzheimer's raised his awareness of the disease

"Joining the efforts is like I've been in this for a long time, as my father wrote a letter back in 1994 telling the world he had Alzheimer's disease, watching what my father went through as he deteriorated⁴ year after year after, and finally being bedridden, and then passing away 5 years ago [in 2004]," he says. He adds, "That's why I'm involved."

Watching a loved one fade away, Reagan says, is a uniquely painful experience to watch.

"Seeing him [going] from riding a horse to being at home sitting in a chair, where all that he can do is [play with] puzzles - first 500-piece puzzles, then 200-piece puzzles and then 100-piece puzzles; watching my children Cameron and Ashley doing children's picture books with their grandfather. And seeing the devastating effect it has not only on the person who has it, but also on the family."

Michael Reagan says not to hide from Alzheimer's

Michael Reagan encourages people who have the disease and those who are looking after them to be proactive about seeking care.

"Families, you have to come out from behind the curtains and admit, like my father admitted in 1994, that the disease is in the family," he says. "Don't hide a loved one. Be honest with your friends. Be honest with your family. You can't hide from it. It's there. If you don't talk about it, and get involved, you may get it. What you need to say is what can I do to help? Try to get people, your family members into the clinical trials, going to clinicaltrials.gov and see a trial that best fits your family member or a friend and get them in because if we don't get people into these trials, we're not going to have a cure in the future."

Clinical trials need participants

Neurologist Marwan Sabbagh, director of clinical research at Banner Sun Health in Sun City, Arizona, agrees with Reagan. He says research centers around the country are always looking for Alzheimer's patients willing to try new treatments. "There are many trials going on now," he says. "We're actually looking at new drugs both to improve symptoms, but also to modify the disease, essentially⁵ to slow the progression. There are so many trials going on, but it is imperative⁶ that people participate," Sabbagh says.

Although no cure has been discovered yet, Dr. Sabbagh says significant progress has been made in understanding and managing the disease.

"Back 15 years ago, we didn't have really any treatment for Alzheimer's disease," he explains. "We now have about four or five prescription⁷ drugs we use to commonly treat Alzheimer's disease.  Additionally, there are 75 clinical trials going on right now in the United States, with another 200 drugs in development behind that," he says.

One disease with several strategies to treat it

People can learn to recognize Alzheimer's early symptoms

 

Thanks to some of these new treatment strategies, Dr. David Crumpacker, a Texas psychiatrist⁸ who specializes in the illness, says it has become possible to slow the advancement⁹ of Alzheimer's. He adds people should know more about the disease so they can recognize its early symptoms including short term memory problems.

"Perhaps getting lost in neighborhoods where your loved one has lived for a number of years," he says is one example. "But Alzheimer's affects a number of [other] spheres as well, including language, someone's ability to participate in conversation[and]following conversations," Crumpacker says.  He adds that current treatments focus on improving memory, language capabilities¹⁰ and the ability to participate in family activities to put some enjoyment¹¹ back into lives.

Taking steps to prevent Alzheimer's disease

Raising awareness may also help some people prevent the onset¹² of Alzheimer's. Michael Reagan says he tries to maintain a healthy lifestyle, hoping it will reduce his chances of getting the disease.

"I go to the gym," he says.  Michael Reagan says that while following a healthy diet, reading and learning new skills can help sharpen one's memory and possibly prevent or slow the advance of the illness, the most effective way to fight Alzheimer's is to volunteer and support funding for current research.  Reagan hopes that someday it will be possible to change the status of Alzheimer's from the lethal¹³ condition that destroyed his father's mind, to a chronic¹⁴ disease that victims and their families can manage with dignity and even hope.

1 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

2 impairs   

v.损害，削弱( impair的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Smoking impairs our health. 吸烟会损害我们的健康。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Almost anything that impairs liver function can cause hepatitis. 任何有损于肝功能的因素，几乎都会引起肝炎。 来自辞典例句

3 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

4 deteriorated   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her health deteriorated rapidly, and she died shortly afterwards. 她的健康状况急剧恶化，不久便去世了。
• His condition steadily deteriorated. 他的病情恶化，日甚一日。

5 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

6 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

7 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

8 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

9 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

10 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

11 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

12 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。

13 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

14 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。