Health Report - Study of Paralyzed Man May Offer Hope for New Treatment
健康报道 - 瘫痪者有望重新自行行走
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。
Rob Summers of Portland, Oregon, is twenty-five years old and a former college athlete. In July of two thousand six he was hit by a car. Doctors told him he would never walk again.
俄勒冈州波特兰市的罗布·萨默斯（Rob Summers）今年25岁，曾是大学运动员。2006年7月他被车撞伤。医生告诉他，他再也不能行走了。
ROB SUMMERS: "I turned to the doctor and said 'Obviously, you don't know me very well. I am going to walk again.'"
萨默斯：“我转身对医生说，‘显然你不太了解我，我一定能够再次行走。’”
Mr. Summers learned about experimental research at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Doctors placed small electrodes in his lower back. These send electrical signals to his damaged spinal cord to move his hips, legs and feet. The signals act like the signals that the brain normally sends to produce movement.
萨默斯了解到了肯塔基州路易斯维尔大学进行的试验性研究。医生在他的后腰部放置了一些小型电极。这些电极向他受损的脊髓发出信号来移动他的臀部、腿部和脚部。这些信号就像大脑日常发出的信号一样，可以产生运动。
ROB SUMMERS: "I was unable to move a toe or anything for four years, and on the third day of turning the simulator on, I was able to stand independently."
萨默斯：“四年时间里，我连脚趾都动不了。而装上模拟器的第三天我就能自己站起来了。
Video from the university shows him even taking steps on a treadmill while supported by a harness. The work is described in a study in the Lancet medical journal. The lead author, Susan Harkema, is a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the university.
来自这所大学的视频显示，他甚至可以在安全带的帮助下在跑步机上迈步。发布在柳叶刀医学期刊上的一篇论文描述了这一成果。论文主要作者苏珊·哈柯玛（Susan Harkema）是该校神经外科系的一名教授。
SUSAN HARKEMA: "Within that week with support, of the body weight support, we were able to get him to stand without any help at the legs so he was generating enough force to bear his body weight."
哈柯玛：“经过一周帮助他支撑体重的训练后，我们能够让他在腿部没有任何支撑的情况下自行站立，因此他已经有足够能力支撑自己的体重。”
Mr. Summers can stand for up to four minutes at a time, or up to an hour with assistance. He received extensive physical training. His spinal cord had to be retrained to produce the muscle movements needed to stand and take assisted steps on the treadmill.
萨默斯每次能够自行站立长达四分钟，或在有支撑的情况下站立长达一个小时。他接受了广泛的身体训练。他的脊髓必须经过重新训练，才能产生站立以及行走所需的肌肉运动。
The treatment has also helped him regain some control over his bladder.
这次治疗还帮助他一定程度上控制了自己的排尿。
Researchers are calling his progress a medical breakthrough. Professor Harkema says there could be a day when Rob Summers and other paraplegics like him will be able to walk again.
研究人员称萨默斯取得的进展是医学上的一大突破。哈柯玛教授表示，总有一天，萨默斯以及其他像他一样的瘫痪者将能够重新行走。
But there is still a lot more work to do to reach that day.
但实现那一天，还有许多工作要做。
Mr. Summers was completely paralyzed below the chest, but he did still have some feeling. The scientists say they do not know how the treatment would work with patients who have no sensation at all below the injury.
萨默斯胸部以下完全瘫痪，但他仍有部分知觉。科学家表示，他们不知道如果病人受伤部位以下毫无知觉，这种治疗是否依然会有效。
Also, the researchers point out that they have studied only one person so far. And Mr. Summers was in extraordinary physical condition before his injury.
研究人员同时指出，截至目前为止，萨默斯是这项研究的唯一病例。而且萨默斯受伤前身体条件非常优秀。
Money for the research came from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Professor Harkema is director of the Reeve Foundation's NeuroRecovery Network.
这项研究的资金来自克里斯托弗·里夫和黛娜基金会，以及美国国立卫生研究院。哈柯玛教授是里夫基金会的神经恢复部门的主任。
The eleven-member team also included scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles, and the California Institute of Technology.
这个11人研究小组成员还包括加州大学洛杉矶分校和加州理工学院的科学家们。
And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. You can watch a video report about Rob Summers and his treatment at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.
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Contributing: Carol Pearson |