解放军文职招聘考试帕金森病的新疗法(1/2)

 Sarah Taylor knew something was very wrong, but she never dreamed she had Parkinson's disease. Five years ago, when Taylor came to Medstar Washington Hospital Center for treatment, she could hardly move. "When I first came here, it was awful. I was terrible. I couldn't stand up. I wouldn't get out of the chair without struggling, you know." Now she has only mild symptoms. She credits her improvement to following Dr. Mark Lin's advice -- from daily exercise to taking medications on a precise schedule. Parkinson's disease develops when cells that make dopamine, a brain chemical that controls muscle movement, mysteriously die off. Scientists believe genetics could play a role in a small number of Parkinson's cases. A new U.N. study says man-made chemicals in everyday products are to blame. Other researchers say exposure to toxic chemical pesticides could trigger the disease. Whatever its cause, the best way to control Parkinson's is to treat it as soon as a diagnosis is made -- usually after the onset of tremors and walking difficulties. But that can be too late, according to Dr. Hubert Fernandez at the Cleveland Clinic."By this time, though, a considerable amount of degeneration has already occurred in the brain. Ideally, we would like to have a test that is specific for Parkinson's disease. And, ideally, we would like to have that test become positive even before we see the shaking."

莎拉•泰勒知道有些事不对劲，但她从没想过自己会患上帕金森。五年前，泰勒来到华盛顿Medstar医疗中心接受治疗时，她几乎不能移动。“我第一次到这儿来的时候，太可怕了。那时候我糟透了。我没法站起来。你知道，我从椅子上站起来都要经过一番挣扎。”现在她只有些轻微的症状。她把自己的好转归功于听从了马克•林医生的建议——从日常锻炼到按照一个精确的时间表服药。当产生多巴胺--一种控制肌肉运动的大脑化学物质的细胞神秘死亡时，帕金森症就显现出来了。科学家认为基因在一小部分帕金森症病例中扮演某种角色。联合国的一项新研究指出，日常用品中的人造化学成分应对此负责。另一些研究人员则指出接触有毒化学农药可能引发该疾病。不管其成因为何，控制帕金森症的最好方法是确诊时就及时治疗——通常是在出现震颤和行走困难之后。但据克利夫兰医学中心的休伯特•费尔南德斯医生所说，那可能就太晚了。“然而这个时候大脑已经发生了重大的退化。理论上我们想专为帕金森症做一个测试，并且我们希望在发现震颤症状前该测试能呈阳性。”