from VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report 1. November
is Alzheimer’s Awareness2
Month in the United States. Alzheimer’s is a frightening disease3. It is frightening not only for those who suffer4
from memory loss5,
but also for their loved ones.
But researchers6
in California say a new way of treating7
Alzheimer’s disease is showing promise
for reversing8 some of that memory loss. The new treatment
combines western9
medicine with eastern10
philosophy – ideas rooted11
in Asian religions. “I could not remember conversations that I had had12 with my kids13 and my husband14. I started
having to refer to15
my calendar all the time16.”
This 55-year-old woman has suffered from17 progressive memory loss
connected with early18
Alzheimer’s. She is still working as a lawyer19,
but does not want her name publicized20.
The woman is one of 10 patients who received21
a new treatment for memory loss at the University of California, Los Angeles.
“I now have much more confidence in my work and not afraid22 that I will forget
something. I don't have to rely on23
my lists. I don't have to write everything
down24.” Dr. Dale Bredesen is with the Easton Center for
Alzheimer’s Disease Research at UCLA. He says nine of 1025 patients suffering from either Alzheimer’s
or other disorders of the brain26
noted improvements27
in their memory.
Using Eastern
philosophy seems to help28.
He says the new therapy treats the whole29
patient, not just parts of the patient. This is called holistic care. Dr.
Bredesen says the traditional use of only one treatment, what he calls “monotheraphy,”
just did not work with many patients. “They have either30 taken31
a single drug32,
monotherapy, to try with Alzheimer’s and that has been a failure repeatedly33, or they
have tried without any sort of34
background35 simply36 saying,
'Okay, try exercise, try changing your diet,' these sorts of things37, and there has not been38 any way to understand how
these things contribute to the disease.”
Dr. Bredesen says there is a constant balance39 of the
brain remembering and forgetting. He says many things, including a person’s lifestyle40, can create
an imbalance41 in
brain activity. And this imbalance can
lead to memory loss42. “We identified 36 different parts of
this network43
that contribute to the imbalance. So when you are chronically on the wrong side
of that balance,you are in fact pulling
apart the connections instead
of45 making them. Then, in
the long run46, that can lead to Alzheimer’s disease.”
The thirty-six different parts or elements include a
person's diet, exercise and sleep. Dr. Bredesen creates an individualized
treatment for each patient. He does this by taking images of their brain,
testing their blood and asking many questions about their daily life.
Treatments include lifestyle changes and even47 medicines or
vitamin supplements. He describes this new therapy as combining western understanding48 of
the human body with the eastern method of looking at the whole patient.
As for49
lifestyle changes, subjects were told
to avoid50 carbohydrates, like bread and pasta51. They also
avoided processed foods and gluten, a protein found in wheat52. Researchers told subjects to eat more
fish and to take vitamin B12, D3 and fish oil. They also practiced yoga, sat quietly53 for 20
minutes two times each day and they slept
more54.
“What we’re using is a combination that brings these
two together to create a new kind of physician55
that is doing a different kind of medicine who understands the basics of
molecular genetics, but also understands the need to bring things together56 in a network fashion.”
Dr. Bredesen says for the nine patients whose57 memory improved58, it
usually happened within three to six
months59. He says the 10th patient was too far along in the
disease for any improvement60
to be observed. The UCLA center is now working with 30 additional patients as
it moves to expand its research. The researchers say they followed some
patients up to61 two
and a half years and the memory improvements remained62. I’m Anna Matteo.
Vocabulary
1. Health Report = relatório de saúde
2.
Awareness
= consciência
3.
Frightening disease = doença assustadora
4. not only for those who suffer = não somente para
aqueles que sofrem
5. loss = perda
6. researchers = pesquisadores
7. new way of treating = uma nova forma de tartar
8. promise for reversing = promessa para reverter
9. western = occidental
10. eastern = oriental
11. rooted = enraizadas
12. had had = tinha tido
13. kids = filhos
14. husband = esposo
15. refer to = recorrer a
16. all the time = o tempo todo
17. has suffered from = tem sofrido de
18. early = prematuro(a)
19. lawyer = advogada
20. publicized = divulgado
21. received = recebeu
22. afraid = receio, medo
23. rely on = depender de
24. write everything down = anotar tudo
25. nine of
10 = nove em cada dez
26. disorders of the brain = disturbios do cérebro
27. improvements = melhorias
28. seems to help = parece ajudar
29. whole = inteiro, complete
30. either =
ou (uma coisa ou outra)
31. taken = tomado
32. a single
drug = um unico medicamento
33. repeatedly = repetidamente
34. without any sort of = sem nenhum tipo de
35. background = conhecimento
36. simply = simplesmente
37. sorts of things = tipos de coisas
38. there has not been = não tem havido
39. balance = equilibrio
40. lifestyle = estilo de vida
41. imbalance = desequilibrio
42. can lead to memory loss = pode levar a perda de
memoria
43. network = rede
44. pulling apart = separando
45. instead of = ao invés de
46. in the long run = a longo prazo
47. even = até mesmo
48. understanding = compreensão
49. As for = quanto a
50. subjects were told to avoid = sujeitos foram
instruidos a evitar
51. pasta = macarrão
52. wheat = trigo
53. sat quietly = sentavam-se calmamente
54. slept more = dormiam mais
55. physician = medico
56. bring things together = unir as coisas
57. whose = cujo(a)
58. improved = melhorou
59. within three to six months = dentro de tres a seis
meses
60. improvement = melhoria
61. up to = até
