1. Alzheimer’s is identified in only about two percent of people who are sixty-five. But the risk increases to about twenty percent by age eighty. By ninety, half of all people are found to have some signs of the disease.
2. Alzheimer’s affects people of all races equally. Yet women are more likely to develop the disease than men. This is partly because women generally live longer than men.
3. There is no one, simple test to show if someone has Alzheimer’s disease. Social workers and mental health experts sometimes test for memory and judgment. Patients may be asked to identify smells such as smoke, natural gas or fruits.
4. Some scientists say a weakened ability to identify smells may be involved. They believe it might show possible development of Alzheimer’s.
5. Medical doctors who suspect a patient has Alzheimer’s must test the person for many other physical problems first. Alzheimer’s is considered if the tests fail to show the existence of other problems. The only way to be sure a person has Alzheimer’s is to examine the victim’s brain after death.
6. People who care for Alzheimer’s patients may become extremely tired physically and emotionally. Families often can get advice and emotional support from local groups. The Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center and The Alzheimer’s Association provide information and support.
7. Patients cannot fully recover from the disease. But many can be helped by medicine. That is especially true if the disease is found early.
8. America's Food and Drug Administration has approved several drugs to treat signs of the disease. The drugs are of two kinds. A doctor must order these medicines for patients.
9. Most are called cholinesterase inhibitors. Cholinesterase inhibitors may work by protecting a chemical messenger needed for brain activities. They are meant to treat memory, thinking, language, judgment and other brain activity. They are used for mild to moderate cases of the disease.
10. The second kind of drug has a long name. It is represented by the drug memantine. This medicine seems to work by governing the activity of a chemical involved in information processing, storage and memory. It treats patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s.
11. British writer Iris Murdoch died of Alzheimer's disease. She said it was a dark and terrible place.
12. The two thousand seven film,“Away from Her” tells what happens to one marriage when a partner suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease. Julie Christie was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for playing the patient. Listen as she describes the pain of her mental condition.
13. It has been more than a century since a German doctor, Alois Alzheimer, told about a dementia patient whose brain was studied after death. Her brain hadsticky structures and nerve cells that appeared to be mixed together.
14. Later studies showed these nerves are made of a protein called tau. The tau protein changes so that it sticks together in groups. The sticky structures wereshown to be amyloid plaques. Scientists are still not sure what causes Alzheimer’s disease. The leading theory blames amyloid plaques.
15. Not all scientists are sure that amyloid plaques cause Alzheimer’s. Some say the plaques could be an effect of the disease, not the cause. Reports say some people who die of Alzheimer's do not have any plaques in their brains. Others who have the sticky structures showed no signs of the disease.
16. Other possibilities are sometimes noted. These include studies of enzymes that act on proteins to produce the plaques, and using antibodies against amyloid. Yet amyloid and enzymes are important for health. Scientists do not want to destroy them completely.
17. Other scientists are working with a gene called apoE4. Researchers found in nineteen ninety-three that its presence increases the chance of developing Alzheimer’disease.
18. Many more studies are being done to find the cause and treatments for Alzheimer's. It is a disease that continues to affect millions of people around the world.
This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS program was written by Jerilyn Watson. Our producer was Brianna Blake. This is Bob Doughty.
And this is Faith Lapidus. Read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.
- Identified = identificado(a)
- About = aproximadamente
- Increases = aumenta
- Yet = porém
- Likely = provável
- Develop = desenvolver
- Partly = em parte
- live longer = vivem mais tempo
- show = mostrar
- health = saúde
- sometimes = às vezes
- judgment = julgamento
- smells = cheiros
- such as = tais como
- weakened = enfraquecido(a)
- might = pode (possibilidade)
- must = deve
- fail = falhar
- way = forma
- to be sure = para ter certeza
- care for = tratar de
- advice = conselho
- support = apoio
- Referral Center = centro de referência
- Provide = fornecem
- Fully = completamente
- Recover = recuperar-se
- found early = descoberta cedo
- treat = tratar
- kinds = tipos
- inhibitors = inibidores
- needed = necessário(a)
- meant to = destinado a
- thinking = pensamento
- mild = leve, ameno
- seems = parece
- storage = armazenamento
- severe = grave
- writer = escritora
- dark = escuro
- happens = acontece
- marriage = casamento
- partner = parceiro
- suffers = sofre
- since = desde
- whose = cujo
- death = morte
- sticky = grudento, pegajoso
- mixed together = misturado
- so that = de forma que
- shown = mostrados
- blames = culpa
- Reports = relatórios
- Antibodies = anticorpos
- Against = contra
- Yet = porém
- Destroy = destruir
- Researchers = pesquisadores
- being done = sendo feitos
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