VOA健康报道2022--实验药物减缓阿尔茨海默病患者认知衰退

Experimental¹ Drug Slows Decline² among Alzheimer’s Patients

Drugmakers Biogen and Eisai say their experimental drug lecanemab slowed the progress of Alzheimer's disease³ in a large human study the companies did.

The results could mean a rare victory in a field filled with failed experiments to find an effective treatment for the disease.

The companies said early results showed that the treatment reduced cognitive⁴ loss by 27 percent when compared to a placebo⁵, an inactive substance. The 18-month-long study involved 1,800 subjects. All had been identified with early-stage Alzheimer's. The patients were measured for mental decline and their ability to do daily activities like putting on clothes and feeding themselves.

Dr. Jeff Cummings is the director of the Chambers-Grundy Center for Transformative Neuroscience at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The expert told Reuters, "If you can slow a disease by almost 30 percent, that's fantastic."

Expert Ronald Petersen also praised the findings⁶. "It's not a huge effect, but it's a positive effect," he said. Peterson directs the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in Rochester, Minnesota.

A statement from the Alzheimer's Association⁷ called the findings the most hopeful to date for possible treatments of the disease causes.

Eisai said it would discuss the full results from the study in late November. It also plans to publish findings in a medical publication⁸. And the company said it is seeking quick approval⁹ for the drug in the United States., Japan and Europe by early next year.

What is Alzheimer's?

The World Health Organization estimates¹⁰ that 50 million people around the world have dementia. Alzheimer's disease might be the cause of 60 to 70 percent of dementia cases. Alzheimer's slowly attacks areas of the brain needed for memory, reasoning, communication and basic, daily tasks. There is no known cure for the disease. And long-standing treatments on the market just manage symptoms.

Last year, Biogen's aduhelm became the first new Alzheimer's drug introduced in 20 years. Given weak evidence of its effectiveness and the high prices, doctors and insurers have not given the treatment to patients.

The beta-amyloid protein is involved in the development of Alzheimer's. Both lecanemab and aduhelm aim to remove the protein from the brain. But lecanemab tries to clear the protein before it could form a hard cover on the brain.

Another drugmaker, Eli Lilly, said it is also developing a possible treatment, donanemab, that targets the protein.

The race to slow the progression of Alzheimer's comes as the number of Americans living with the disease is expected to double to 13 million by 2050, the Alzheimer's Association said.

Around the world, Alzheimer's Disease International said the number of disease cases could reach well over 100 million people by 2050 if no effective treatment is found.

Words in This Story

stage - n. a period of growth or development

decline - v. to become worse

dementia - n. a mental illness that causes someone unable to think or understand

insurer - n. company that provides insurance

1 experimental   

adj.实验的，用作实验的，根据实验的

参考例句：

• This trip will be only experimental.这次旅行只是试验性的。
• The experimental farm is near the waterpower station.实验农场靠近水电站。

2 decline   

n.衰微，跌落，下降；vt.使降低，婉谢；vi.下降，衰落，偏斜

参考例句：

• I must decline to show favour to any of the candidates.我必须拒绝偏袒任何一位候选人。
• The birthrate is on the decline.出生率在下降。

3 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

4 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。

5 placebo   

n.安慰剂；宽慰话

参考例句：

• The placebo has been found to work with a lot of different cases.人们已发现安慰剂能在很多不同的病例中发挥作用。
• The placebo effect refers to all the observable behaviors caused by placebo.安慰剂效应是指由安慰剂所引起的可观察的行为。

6 findings   

n.发现物( finding的名词复数 )；调查（或研究）的结果；（陪审团的）裁决

参考例句：

• It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。

7 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。

8 publication   

n.出版，发行；出版；公布，发表

参考例句：

• They don't think this article is suitable for publication.他们认为这篇文章不宜发表。
• The government has delayed publication of the trade figures.政府已将贸易统计数字延后公布。

9 approval   

n.赞成，同意；批准，认可

参考例句：

• The audience has expressed its approval.观众已经认可。
• The teacher signed his approval.老师做了手势表示同意。

10 estimates   

估计

参考例句：

• Unofficial estimates put the figure at over two million. 非官方的估计数字为200万以上。
• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》