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A long-term study in China has shown that a series of changes take place in the brains of people who get Alzheimer's disease long before they present signs of the sickness.
中国的一项长期研究表明，早在阿尔茨海默病患者出现症状之前，他们的大脑就会发生一系列变化。
The large study followed middle-aged and older adults for 20 years.
这项大型研究对中老年人进行了长达20年的跟踪调查。
The individuals were examined on a regular basis during that period.
在此期间，对这些人进行了定期检查。
The researchers used brain imaging, spinal fluid checks and other tools to collect data.
研究人员使用了脑成像、脊髓液检测和其他工具来收集数据。
The researchers reported that the study subjects who later developed Alzheimer's showed high levels of disease-linked protein in their spinal fluid.
研究人员报告称，后来患上阿尔茨海默病的研究对象的脊髓液显示出高水平的与疾病相关的蛋白质。
The higher levels were recorded as much as 18 years before the patients were identified as having Alzheimer's.
在患者被确诊为阿尔茨海默病的18年前，就记录到了较高的水平。
Then every few years, the study detected another so-called biomarker of coming trouble.
然后，每隔几年，这项研究就会检测到另一个所谓的生物标志物，预示着即将到来的麻烦。
Scientists still do not know exactly how Alzheimer's forms.
科学家仍然不知道阿尔茨海默病是如何形成的。
The disease slowly destroys the brain, interfering with the ability to think.
这种疾病会慢慢破坏大脑，干扰思考能力。
Alzheimer's patients develop proteins called beta-amyloid and tau, which over time build up into plaques that block brain processes.
阿尔茨海默病患者体内会产生一种名为β-淀粉样蛋白和tau蛋白的蛋白质，随着时间的推移，这些蛋白质会积聚成阻碍大脑运转的斑块。
The new research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, offers a timeline for how these proteins develop.
这篇发表在《新英格兰医学杂志》上的新研究为这些蛋白质的发育提供了一个时间表。
The study's importance "cannot be overstated," said Dr. Richard Mayeux, an Alzheimer's specialist at Columbia University who was not involved in the research.
这项研究的重要性“怎么强调都不为过”，哥伦比亚大学阿尔茨海默病专家理查德·梅尤博士说，他没有参与这项研究。
"Knowledge of the timing of these physiological events is critical" for testing new ways of treating and maybe even preventing Alzheimer's, he wrote in a piece published alongside the study report.
他在与这篇研究报告一起发表的一篇文章中写道，“了解这些生理事件发生的时间至关重要，这对测试新的治疗方法甚至预防阿尔茨海默病的新方法至关重要。
Scientists already knew that in rare, genetic forms of Alzheimer's that affect young people, a poisonous form of amyloid starts developing about 20 years ahead of symptoms.
科学家已经知道，在影响年轻人的罕见的阿尔茨海默病的遗传形式中，一种有毒的淀粉样蛋白在症状出现前大约20年就开始发育。
At some point after that, tau develops as well.
在那之后的某个时候，tau蛋白也会发育。
The new findings show the order of such biomarker changes common to age-related Alzheimer's.
新的研究结果表明，这些生物标志物变化的顺序与年龄相关的阿尔茨海默病相同。
Researchers with Beijing's Innovation Center for Neurological Disorders compared 648 people who were later found with Alzheimer's to an equal number who remained healthy.
北京神经系统疾病创新中心的研究人员将648名后来被发现患有阿尔茨海默病的人与同等数量的健康人群进行了比较。
The amyloid finding in future Alzheimer's patients was the main discovery.
在未来会患阿尔茨海默病的人身上发现的淀粉样蛋白是主要的发现。
Differences in tau were found next, followed by a marker of trouble in how neurons communicate.
接下来发现了tau蛋白的差异，接着是神经元交流方式出现问题的标志。
A few years after that, the study found differences in brain shrinkage and cognitive test scores between the two groups.
几年后，这项研究发现两组人在大脑萎缩和认知测试分数上存在差异。
"The more we know about viable Alzheimer's treatment targets and when to address them, the better and faster we will be able to develop new therapies and preventions," said Claire Sexton, director of scientific programs with the Alzheimer's Association.
阿尔茨海默病协会科学项目主任克莱尔·塞克斯顿说：“我们对治疗阿尔茨海默病的可行目标以及何时解决这些目标了解得越多，我们就越能更好、更快地开发出新的治疗方法和预防措施。”
She noted that blood tests are coming soon that promise to also help by making it easier to find amyloid and tau.
她指出，很快就会进行血液测试，这也有望帮助科学家更容易发现淀粉样蛋白和tau蛋白。
More than 6 million Americans, and millions more worldwide, have Alzheimer's.
超过600万美国人患有阿尔茨海默病，全世界有数百万人患有阿尔茨海默病。
There is no cure.
没有治愈的方法。
But last year, Leqembi became the first approved drug that could slow the worsening of early Alzheimer's for a few months.
但去年，Leqembi成为第一个被批准的药物，该药物可以在几个月内减缓早期阿尔茨海默病的恶化。
The drug works by clearing away some of the amyloid protein.
这种药物通过清除部分淀粉样蛋白起作用。
Other drugs are being developed to target tau.
针对tau蛋白的其他药物也在研发中。
I'm Caty Weaver.
凯蒂·韦弗为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
