读者文摘:最新医学研究(2)（在线收听）

Appendectomies May Prevent Parkinson's.

阑尾切除术可以预防帕金森氏症。

An analysis of the medical records of 1.7 million people revealed that those who'd had their appendixes removed had a 19 percent lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease decades later.

据一项对170万人的医疗记录的分析，那些切除了阑尾的人在几十年后患帕金森病的风险降低了19%。

The study also found that many people, both with and without the brain disease, harbor an abnormal form of the protein alpha-synuclein in the appendix.

研究还发现，许多人，无论是否患有脑部疾病，阑尾中都存在突触核蛋白的异常形态。

Researchers theorize that the misfolded protein sometimes travels up the vagus nerve to the brain, where it can affect cells involved with movement, causing the tremors that are a hallmark of Parkinson's.

研究人员推测，这种错误折叠的蛋白质有时会通过交感神经到达大脑，它可以影响与运动有关的细胞，引起震颤，这是帕金森氏症的一个特征。

However, because the bad alpha-synuclein also appears in healthy people, just accumulating it doesn't cause Parkinson's.

然而，因为突触核蛋白也会出现在健康的人身上，只是积累它并不会导致帕金森病。

Research continues into other factors.

对其他影响因素的研究还在继续。

THE PROBLEM WITH PROBIOTICS. Lose weight. Cut cancer risk. Prevent colds.

益生菌的问题。减肥。降低患癌风险。预防感冒。

Those are just a few of the many health benefits ascribed to probiotics, the living micro-organisms in the human digestive tract called the microbiome.

这些只是益生菌众多健康益处中的几个，人类消化道中的活微生物被称为微生物组。

But recent studies have begun to question these claims and even indicate that taking probiotic pills can be harmful in certain circumstances.

但是最近的研究已经开始质疑这些说法，甚至表明在某些情况下吃益生菌药是有害的。

One study followed 46 melanoma patients through a course of immunotherapy. Almost half of them took probiotic supplements.

一项研究跟踪了46名进行免疫治疗的黑色素瘤患者。其中几乎一半的人服用益生菌补充剂。

These patients were 70 percent less likely to respond to the immunotherapy than those who did not take probiotics.

与未服用益生菌的患者相比，这些患者对免疫疗法有反应的可能性要低70%。

And a systematic review of the research on probiotics found that there wasn't enough evidence to prove a beneficial effect on anything other than diarrhea in children and a few other gastrointestinal issues.

一项对益生菌研究的系统性回顾发现，除了对儿童腹泻和一些其他肠胃问题，没有足够的证据证明益生菌对其他任何疾病都有益处。

The probiotics currently on the market may simply lack sufficient personalization.

现在市场上的益生菌可能仅仅是缺少足够的个性化。

Evidence for that conclusion came from another recent study in which the microbiomes of participants who took a generic probiotic after a course of antibiotics took months to return to normal.

这个结论的证据来自另外一个最近的研究，在这个实验中，在服用抗生素后服用无商标的益生菌的参与者的微生物群需要几个月才能恢复正常。

Those treated with their own bacteria (collected before they took the antibiotics) bounced back within a few days.

那些用自己的细菌(在服用抗生素前收集的)进行治疗的人在几天内就恢复了正常。

In the future, researchers may be able to predict how different combinations of the hundreds of strains will behave within each person's unique microbiome.

未来，研究人员或许可能预测数百种菌株的组合对每个人独特的微生物组影响的区别。

Supplements today, though, contain only a few strains, so their helpfulness is limited.

但是，今天的补充剂仅包含一些菌株，所以他们的益处是有限的。

Meat Substitutes High in Salt.

肉类替代品含盐量高。

According to a recent British survey of meat-free burgers, ham, sausages, and other vegetarian or vegan meat substitutes, 28 percent of the products exceeded maximum recommended salt levels.

据英国一个最近的针对无肉汉堡、火腿、香肠和其他素食或纯素肉类替代品的调查，28%的产品都超过了最高推荐盐量。

A few were even saltier than seawater.

其中有一些比海水还咸。

View of Green Spaces Curbs Cravings.

观看绿色空间抑制渴望。

It's well-known that being in nature confers a host of physical and mental health benefits.

大家都知道，处在自然中能带来一系列的身体和精神的益处。

Now a new study suggests that simply seeing green spaces can help reduce unhealthy cravings.

现在，一项新的研究表明，仅仅看到绿色空间就可以帮助减少不健康的渴望。

Of the 149 participants ages 21 to 65, those whose views from their homes featured more than 25 percent green space reported fewer and less intense urges for junk food, alcohol, and cigarettes.

参与研究的149个人的年龄在21岁到65岁之间，那些家里可以看到超过25%的绿地的人对垃圾食品、酒精和香烟的强烈欲望越来越少。