From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语的《健康与生活方式报道》。
Researchers say a number of drugs currently used to treat autoimmune diseases also appear to treat signs of depression.
研究人员表示，当前诸多治疗自身免疫病的药物可用于减轻抑郁症症状。
These medicines are known as anti-inflammatories. They help to reduce inflammation in the body. Inflammation is the pain and expansion, or swelling, of damaged tissue.
这些药也就是人们所知的消炎药。消炎药可缓解人体内的炎症。炎症是体内受损组织在疼痛、扩散或肿胀。
What is an autoimmune disease?
什么是自身免疫性疾病?
An autoimmune disease is a disease where the body attacks itself. Examples include the skin condition psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes and Crohn's disease.
自身免疫病是一种机体损害自身组织的疾病。比如，皮肤病牛皮鲜、类风湿性关节炎、一型糖尿病和节段性回肠炎。
White blood cells are part of the body's natural defense against disease. They help to protect us against infection. In autoimmune diseases, the white blood cells are over-activated. Instead of simply attacking bacteria and viruses, the body's natural defense system also attacks healthy tissue.
白细胞是人体抵御疾病的天然防御的一部分。它们有助于保护我们免受感染。在自身免疫性疾病中，白细胞被过度激活。人体的自然防御系统不仅会抵抗细菌和病毒，还会损害体内健康的组织。
To treat an autoimmune disease, patients often are told to take anti-inflammatory drugs. Now, a study suggests that the drugs also appear to treat signs of depression. The study also suggests that anti-inflammatory medicines may soon take their place with traditional treatments to help people with this disorder.
病人治疗自身免疫病的方法是服用消炎药。目前研究表明，这种消炎药似乎可以治疗抑郁症。研究还显示，不久，消炎药可取代传统抑郁症治疗方法，以帮助人们对抗抑郁症。
Researchers looked at a number of drug studies that involved patients with autoimmune diseases. They noted an improvement in patients with signs of depression after the research ended.
研究者还调查了大量有关患有自身免疫病患者的药物研究。他们指出，在研究结束后，患者抑郁症状得以改善。
Anti-inflammatory drugs quiet the body's natural defenses by disarming proteins known as cytokines. These proteins are important in the body's reaction to inflammation. A small amount of inflammation is necessary to activate the immune system to fight an infection. But too much pain or swelling is harmful.
消炎药可通过平息蛋白质，即人们所熟悉的细胞因子，来安定体内的自然防御系统。这些蛋白质对于机体对炎症的反应来说很重要。少量炎症对于激活免疫系统以对抗感染来说是十分必要的。不过若造成太多的疼痛或肿胀，伤害就不可避免了。
Golam Khandaker is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.
吴拉姆·孔达可尔是剑桥大学精神病学教授。
Slow burning inflammation that's circulating in our body can cause a number of physical and psychiatric conditions. For example, in the brain, it could lead to increased risks of depression. Similarly in the body, it could lead to increased risk of heart disease, particularly coronary heart disease such as stroke ... or also type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes.
“我们体内的慢性炎症可导致许多身体问题和精神问题。比如，在大脑中，它可提升患有抑郁症的风险。同样在人体内，则提升患有心脏病，尤其中风等冠心病的风险，或得二型和一型糖尿病的风险。”
People with autoimmune diseases often suffer from depression. Some earlier studies suggested these people are depressed because of their condition. But the new study suggests that inflammation changes the chemistry of the brain, causing depression.
患有自身免疫病的人通常也遭受着抑郁症的折磨。早期研究显示，这些人会因为他们的身体情况而沮丧。然而，最新研究显示，炎症改变了大脑中的化学物质构成，从而导致抑郁。
Antidepressant drugs work to help to re-establish the operation of brain chemicals, called neurotransmitters. However, the drugs are not always successful in treating patients with depression.
抗抑郁药物的作用是帮助重建大脑化学物质的运作，这种化学物质被称为神经递质。然而，这些药物在治疗抑郁症患者方面并非屡获成功。
Anti-inflammatory drugs, which work differently in the brain, give doctors another choice.
消炎药在大脑中的作用不同，这为医生提供了另一种选择。
For the study, Khandaker and his team looked at the results of 20 studies of people treated with anti-inflammatory drugs. These patients had arthritis, psoriasis or Crohn's disease.
在这项研究中，孔达可尔和他的团队研究了20项使用消炎药治疗的研究结果。这些患者患有关节炎、牛皮癣或节段性回肠炎。
The researchers found that individuals who reported signs of hard-to-treat depression before the study had a mild to moderate reduction in those symptoms after the study. In fact, the results were similar to the effectiveness of antidepressants.
研究发现，那些在研究前患有难以治愈的抑郁症患者，研究结束后症状得以轻微减轻。事实上，结果同抗抑郁药物的效果是相似的。
And what they showed is that patients who were inflamed at the beginning of the trial showed benefits from the anti-cytokine drug. And the higher the level of inflammation, the greater the improvement in the severity of depressive symptoms.
“他们表明，在试验初期患有炎症的患者，服用抗细胞因子药物是有效果的。发炎越严重，抑郁症症状越能得到有效的改善。”
The researchers published their findings in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
研究人员在《分子精神病学》杂志上发表了他们的发现。
Researchers say anti-inflammatory drugs could someday be used in patients with depression for whom other drugs have failed.
研究人员表示，抗炎药物有一天可以用于其他药物无效的抑郁症患者。
Depression will be the second highest cause of disease burden in middle-income countries by the year 2030. This prediction comes from the World Health Organization.
到2030年，抑郁症将成为中等收入国家疾病负担的第二大原因。这一预测来自世界卫生组织。
For the Health & Lifestyle report, I'm Anna Matteo.
以上是今天的《健康与生活方式报道》，安娜·马特奥报道。
From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle report.
Researchers say a number of drugs currently used to treat autoimmune diseases also appear to treat signs of depression.
These medicines are known as anti-inflammatories. They help to reduce inflammation in the body. Inflammation is the pain and expansion, or swelling, of damaged tissue.
What is an autoimmune disease?
An autoimmune disease is a disease where the body attacks itself. Examples include the skin condition psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes and Crohn's disease.
White blood cells are part of the body's natural defense against disease. They help to protect us against infection. In autoimmune diseases, the white blood cells are over-activated. Instead of simply attacking bacteria and viruses, the body's natural defense system also attacks healthy tissue.
To treat an autoimmune disease, patients often are told to take anti-inflammatory drugs. Now, a study suggests that the drugs also appear to treat signs of depression. The study also suggests that anti-inflammatory medicines may soon take their place with traditional treatments to help people with this disorder.
Researchers looked at a number of drug studies that involved patients with autoimmune diseases. They noted an improvement in patients with signs of depression after the research ended.
Anti-inflammatory drugs quiet the body's natural defenses by disarming proteins known as cytokines. These proteins are important in the body's reaction to inflammation. A small amount of inflammation is necessary to activate the immune system to fight an infection. But too much pain or swelling is harmful.
Golam Khandaker is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.
"Slow burning inflammation that's circulating in our body can cause a number of physical and psychiatric conditions. For example, in the brain, it could lead to increased risks of depression. Similarly in the body, it could lead to increased risk of heart disease, particularly coronary heart disease such as stroke ... or also type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes."
People with autoimmune diseases often suffer from depression. Some earlier studies suggested these people are depressed because of their condition. But the new study suggests that inflammation changes the chemistry of the brain, causing depression.
Antidepressant drugs work to help to re-establish the operation of brain chemicals, called neurotransmitters. However, the drugs are not always successful in treating patients with depression.
Anti-inflammatory drugs, which work differently in the brain, give doctors another choice.
For the study, Khandaker and his team looked at the results of 20 studies of people treated with anti-inflammatory drugs. These patients had arthritis, psoriasis or Crohn's disease.
The researchers found that individuals who reported signs of hard-to-treat depression before the study had a mild to moderate reduction in those symptoms after the study. In fact, the results were similar to the effectiveness of antidepressants.
"And what they showed is that patients who were inflamed at the beginning of the trial showed benefits from the anti-cytokine drug. And the higher the level of inflammation, the greater the improvement in the severity of depressive symptoms."
The researchers published their findings in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
Researchers say anti-inflammatory drugs could someday be used in patients with depression for whom other drugs have failed.
Depression will be the second highest cause of disease burden in middle-income countries by the year 2030. This prediction comes from the World Health Organization.
For the Health & Lifestyle report, I'm Anna Matteo.
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Words in This Story
over-activate - v. make to active especially in a way that produces a bad result
deactivate - v. to make (something) no longer active or effective
activate - v. to make (as molecules) reactive or more reactive
disarm - v. to make harmless
psychiatric - n. a branch of medicine that deals with mental or emotional disorders
burden - n. something oppressive or worrisome
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