A genetic breakthrough11種導致阿爾茨海默病的危險基因

媒體英語會帶大家一起學習 BBC 撰稿人在報道世界大事時常用到的單詞和短語。

科學家們新發現了11種導致阿爾茨海默病發病的危險基因。這是迄今為止全球最大規模的阿爾茨海默病癥調研項目。來自15個國家，共5萬多人參與了此次抽樣調研。以下是 BBC 記者James Gallagher 發回的報道：

Alzheimer's disease is a growing burden around the world. Yet basic questions such as what causes it or how to diagnose it remain unanswered. A global team of scientists searched through the DNA of more than 50,000 people in the hunt for clues. The study, published in Nature Genetics, identified 11 new genes on top of the ten already discovered. All can increase the chances of developing the dementia.

One of the lead scientists, Professor Julie Williams from Cardiff University, said working out the genes' role in Alzheimer's could lead to treatments. "It's not, you know, 21 different theories about Alzheimer's. They are forming patterns so we can look at a few different processes and try and understand those and then produce treatments from there."

Those patterns centre on the immune system, how the body deals with cholesterol and how cells in the brain transport material. But this is the first step. Further studies are now needed to identify precisely what is going wrong and to begin the slow process of converting the findings into treatments.