新奇事件簿 非处方药或导致大脑萎缩

Over-the-counter (OTC) medicine is a common part of our lives. Many of us pop into the local pharmacy¹ for cold and headache tablets, cough syrups² or allergy³ treatments. Over-the-counter drugs save the need to go to the doctor's. However, we may be causing ourselves more harm than good with these convenient cures. A new study published in the journal JAMA Neurology suggests that many of these handy medicines have unwanted, and sometimes serious, side effects. Researchers say that such side effects in older adults who often take widely available OTC medicines for asthma⁴, aches and pains, insomnia⁵ and allergies⁶, etc. include cognitive⁷ impairment, dementia and even brain shrinkage.

非处方药早已成为生活的一部分。发烧感冒，头疼脑热，咳嗽过敏，我们会选择当地药店买药。有了非处方药，省去了人们的看病需求。然而，这些药物却对身体造成了极大伤害。据《JAMA 神经病学》杂志最新研究表明，许多非处方药本不需要，且副作用大。对于经常服用哮喘，止疼药的老年病患者而言，其副作用包括认知功能障碍，痴呆甚至大脑萎缩。

The study was conducted by the Indiana University School of Medicine. Researchers examined the link between OTC medications and cognition in "cognitively⁸ normal" older people who did not have Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. The scientists found that OTC drugs led to a lower glucose⁹ metabolism¹⁰, which is crucial for the brain to be healthy and function properly. Dr. Shannon Risacher said: "These findings provide us with a much better understanding of how this class of drugs may act upon the brain in ways that might raise the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia." She added: "I certainly wouldn't advise my grandparents or even my parents to take these medications unless they have to."

这是印第安纳大学医学院进行的研究。研究人员对非处方药，以及认知功能正常的老年人（无阿尔茨海默病或痴呆症）进行了比对。据科学家发现，非处方药导致葡萄糖代谢减慢，而葡萄糖代谢对于大脑健康极为重要。莎伦·费舍尔博士认为：“通过这一发现，我们对非处方药以及大脑之间的关系有了更加深入的认识，患认知功能障碍以及患痴呆症风险增加。”她补充道：“除非吃不可，我一定不建议祖父母，甚至是父母服用这些药物。”

1 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

2 syrups   

n.糖浆，糖汁( syrup的名词复数 )；糖浆类药品

参考例句：

• A variety of cocktails were created all using Monin syrups and purees. 我们用莫林糖浆和果泥创作了许多鸡尾酒。 来自互联网
• Other applications include fruit juices, flavors, and sugar syrups. 其它的应用包括水果汁、香精和糖浆。 来自互联网

3 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。

4 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

5 insomnia   

n.失眠，失眠症

参考例句：

• Worries and tenseness can lead to insomnia.忧虑和紧张会导致失眠。
• He is suffering from insomnia.他患失眠症。

6 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

7 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

8 cognitively   

参考例句：

• Cognitively,man,the subject of cognition,must classify and categorize the objects. 从认知学角度来看 ，作为认知主体的人对于认知对象必须进行分类和范畴化。 来自互联网
• Cognitively, reference can be studied along with information processing of human mind. 从认知的角度看，要研究人类思维的信息处理过程。 来自互联网

9 glucose   

n.葡萄糖

参考例句：

• I gave him an extra dose of glucose to pep him up.我给他多注射了一剂葡萄糖以增强他的活力。
• The doctor injected glucose into his patient's veins.医生将葡萄糖注入病人的静脉。

10 metabolism   

n.新陈代谢

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• All living matter undergoes a process of metabolism.生物都有新陈代谢。