02 July, 2013

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

An international team of researchers has developed a drug that could help in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is a mental condition that can develop when someone seize a disturbing event, or serious of events.

People who suffer from it experience increased anxiety, depression and may have problems with their memory. Scientists say the drug could be given to someone immediately following a trauma to prevent the development of PTSD.

Raul Andero Gali is a researcher at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, who studies the biology of PTSD. He says it is the only mental disorder that has a known trigger or cause, such as a car accident, or being in armed conflict. And this means researchers have a better chance of finding a treatment for it.

"So we can even define more clearly which is the stimulus or the stressor that trigger[s] the disease, whereas with other psychiatric diseases it is way more difficult. For example, with depression or schizophrenia it is more uncertain what is triggering that disease."

Doctor Gali and other researchers at Emory, the University of Miami in Florida, Scripps Research Institute in Florida and the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, Germany worked to find gene associated with the development of PTSD.

They found that in some people experiencing a high degree of stress, a gene called OPRL1 releases a protein receptor for a molecule called nociceptin in the brain. Doctor Gali says when that happens, people experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The researchers experiment it on mice to develop a drug that blocks the receptor, reducing symptoms of anxiety and fear. Doctor Gali says investigators tested their drug, called SR8993, in mice train to feel an electric shock whenever they heard a specific sound. The mice became very stressed when they heard the sound. Doctor Gali says immediately after the sound and shocks, some of the mice were given SR8993, others were given a drug with no active ingredient called a placebo.

"The day after the animals were tested to see how afraid they were for the tone. And the animals that got the compound SR8993 presented less fear to the tone. So their conservation of fear memories is decreased."

Doctor Gali says much work needs to be done to determine if SR8993 is effective in humans. If it is, he believes it could be given to, for example, soldiers returning home from a war zone to keep them from developing PTSD.

An article on this possible treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

And that's the Health Report, I'm Christopher Cruise.

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。

An international team of researchers has developed a drug that could help in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is a mental condition that can develop when someone seize a disturbing event, or serious of events.

一个国际研究人员小组开发出了一种药物，它可能有助于治疗创伤后应激障碍(简称PTSD)。PTSD是指在遇到恐慌或严重事件时就会发作的一种精神状况。

People who suffer from it experience increased anxiety, depression and may have problems with their memory. Scientists say the drug could be given to someone immediately following a trauma to prevent the development of PTSD.

患病者越来越焦虑、抑郁，并可能存在记忆问题。科学家表示，这种药可以给刚遭遇创伤的人服用，用来预防患上创伤后应激障碍。

Raul Andero Gali is a researcher at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, who studies the biology of PTSD. He says it is the only mental disorder that has a known trigger or cause, such as a car accident, or being in armed conflict. And this means researchers have a better chance of finding a treatment for it.

劳尔·加利(Raul Andero Gali)是佐治亚州亚特兰大市埃默里大学的一名研究人员，他研究创伤后应激障碍的生物学机制。他表示，这是唯一一种已知起因或原因的心理障碍，例如车祸、或置身武装冲突中。这意味着研究人员拥有更好的机会来寻找治疗方案。

"So we can even define more clearly which is the stimulus or the stressor that trigger[s] the disease, whereas with other psychiatric diseases it is way more difficult. For example, with depression or schizophrenia it is more uncertain what is triggering that disease."

他说，“因此我们可以明确界定是哪种刺激触发了这种疾病，而在其它精神疾病中这相当困难。例如，抑郁症或精神分裂症是由什么触发的就相当不明朗。”

Doctor Gali and other researchers at Emory, the University of Miami in Florida, Scripps Research Institute in Florida and the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, Germany worked to find gene associated with the development of PTSD.

加利博士和埃默里大学、佛罗里达州的迈阿密大学和斯克里普斯研究所，以及德国慕尼黑的马普精神病学研究所的其他研究人员致力于找到和PTSD发作相关联的基因。

They found that in some people experiencing a high degree of stress, a gene called OPRL1 releases a protein receptor for a molecule called nociceptin in the brain. Doctor Gali says when that happens, people experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

他们发现，在一些经历了高度压力的人中，一种名为OPRL1的基因对大脑中的孤菲肽释放出一种蛋白质受体。加利博士表示，当这种情况发生后，人们就会出现创伤后应激障碍的症状。

The researchers experiment it on mice to develop a drug that blocks the receptor, reducing symptoms of anxiety and fear. Doctor Gali says investigators tested their drug, called SR8993, in mice train to feel an electric shock whenever they heard a specific sound. The mice became very stressed when they heard the sound. Doctor Gali says immediately after the sound and shocks, some of the mice were given SR8993, others were given a drug with no active ingredient called a placebo.

这些研究人员在小白鼠身上实验，以开发一种药物来阻止这种受体，从而减少焦虑和恐惧的症状。加利博士表示，调查人员在小白鼠身上测试了他们这种名为SR8933的新药。这些小白鼠经过训练，当它们听到特定声音时就会受到电击，这样它们在听到这些声音时会变得非常焦虑。加利博士表示，在听到这些声音和电击之后，一些小白鼠立即给予服用SR8993，另一些小白鼠立即给予服用无任何有效成分的安慰剂。

"The day after the animals were tested to see how afraid they were for the tone. And the animals that got the compound SR8993 presented less fear to the tone. So their conservation of fear memories is decreased."

“第二天，这些小白鼠接受测试，看它们会有多怕这种声音。服用了SR8993化合物的小白鼠对这种声音的恐惧降低了。因此说，它们恐惧记忆保护降低了。”

Doctor Gali says much work needs to be done to determine if SR8993 is effective in humans. If it is, he believes it could be given to, for example, soldiers returning home from a war zone to keep them from developing PTSD.

加利博士表示，还有许多工作要做，以测试SR8993是否对人类有效。如果有效，他认为可以给刚从战区回国的士兵服用，以防止他们患上创伤后应激障碍。

An article on this possible treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

一篇关于这种创伤后应激障碍的可能疗法的文章发表在《科学转化医学》杂志上。