By Lucia Garcia-Insua 石室中学剑桥国际高中课程中心生物老师
在过去的一百年中，由于医学及科技的进步，人类的平均寿命大幅度延长。而平均寿命的延长使得老年痴呆症等一系列老年病更加盛行，特别是对于像中国这样老龄化比较严重的国家。我们应该怎样预防老年痴呆？痴呆症又是因为什么引起的？科学家为此又做出了怎样的努力？本期我们的生物老师Lucia将为大家详细讲解。
Average life expectancy has
increased dramatically over the last century largely due to advances in
medicine and technology. Increases in life expectancy has made Alzheimer's and
other forms of dementia more prevalent. This is of particular concern for
countries with an aging population, like China.
What if we could diagnose
Alzheimer's before symptoms started? The hope is, future treatments could then
target the disease in its earliest stages, before irreversible brain damage or
mental decline has occurred.
Scientists are putting a lot of
effort into searching for a cure, but as prevalence rates climb, their focus
has broadened from treatment to prevention strategies. What they’ve discovered is that it may be possible to prevent or delay the symptoms
of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of
dementia through a combination of healthy lifestyle habits.
While Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 50 percent of dementia cases, vascular dementia
accounts for up to 40 percent in older adults, and there is much you can do to
prevent this type of dementia.
Like many diseases, the causes
of Alzheimer's is a combination of genetics and environment. So can you do
anything to prevent this disease? You can't currently do much about the genetic
but there are things you can do about the environment. Some of the best advice
from experts in the field is to keep your brain active. Many people after they
obtain their degrees don’t use their memory as much.
Learning another language is a great way to prevent or delay the diseases
development.
You might think that Alzheimer
is not something that you should worry about as a student however it is never
too soon to start to take care of yourself and those who are around you. So
encourage friends and family to stay active and to keep learning.