ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Gregory Petsko - Bioengineer
Gregory Petsko is a biochemist who studies the proteins of the body and their biochemical function. Working with Dagmar Ringe, he's doing pioneering work in the way we look at proteins and what they do.

Why you should listen

Gregory Petsko's own biography, on his Brandeis faculty homepage, might seem intimidatingly abstruse to the non-biochemist -- he studies "the structural basis for efficient enzymic catalysis of proton and hydride transfer; the role of the metal ions in bridged bimetalloenzyme active sites; direct visualization of proteins in action by time-resolved protein crystallography; the evolution of new enzyme activities from old ones; and the biology of the quiescent state in eukaryotic cells."

But for someone so deeply in touch with the minutest parts of our bodies, Petsko is also a wide-ranging mind, concerned about larger health policy issues. The effect of mass population shifts -- such as our current trend toward a senior-citizen society -- maps onto his world of tiny proteins to create a compeling new worldview.

More profile about the speaker
Gregory Petsko | Speaker | TED.com
TED2008

Gregory Petsko: The coming neurological epidemic

Gregory Petsko despre iminenta epidemie neurologica

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Gregory Petsko, biochimist, expune o argumentatie convingatoare despre epidemia de boli neurologice, precum Alzheimer-ul, care ne va invada in viitorii 50 de ani odata cu imbatranirea populatiei. Solutia sa: intensificarea cercetarii creierului si a functiilor sale.
- Bioengineer
Gregory Petsko is a biochemist who studies the proteins of the body and their biochemical function. Working with Dagmar Ringe, he's doing pioneering work in the way we look at proteins and what they do. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

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UnlessCu excepţia cazului în we do something to preventîmpiedica it,
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Pana cand nu vom face ceva sa o prevenim,
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over the nextUrmător → 40 yearsani we’reRe facingcu care se confruntă an epidemicepidemie
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in urmatorii 40 de ani vom avea de-a face cu o epidemie
00:17
of neurologicneurologice diseasesboli on a globalglobal scalescară.
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de boli neurologice la scara mondiala.
00:20
A cheeryvesel thought.
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O perspectiva optimista.
00:24
On this mapHartă, everyfiecare countryțară that’s coloredcolorat bluealbastru
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Pe aceasta harta, fiecare tara care e colorata in albastru
00:27
has more than 20 percentla sută of its populationpopulație over the agevârstă of 65.
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are mai mult de 20% din populatie cu varste de peste 65 de ani.
00:31
This is the worldlume we livetrăi in.
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Aceasta este lumea in care traim.
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And this is the worldlume your childrencopii will livetrăi in.
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Si aceasta e lumea in care vor trai copiii vostri.
00:37
For 12,000 yearsani, the distributiondistribuire of agesvârstele in the humanuman populationpopulație
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In ultimii 12000 de ani, distributia varstelor in populatia umana
00:41
has lookedprivit like a pyramidpiramidă, with the oldestmai vechi on toptop.
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a aratat ca o piramida, cu cei mai in varsta in varf.
00:44
It’s alreadydeja flatteningaplatizare out.
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Deja isi pierde aspectul.
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By 2050, it’s going to be a columncoloană and will startstart to invertinvertit.
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In jur de 2050 va fi devenit o coloana si va incepe sa se inverseze.
00:50
This is why it’s happeninglucru.
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Iata de ce se intampla acest fenomen.
00:53
The averagein medie lifespandurata de viata’s more than doubleddublat sincede cand 1840,
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Dupa 1840, durata medie de viata s-a dublat cel putin,
00:56
and it’s increasingcrescând currentlyîn prezent at the raterată of about fivecinci hoursore everyfiecare day.
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si continua sa creasca cu o rata de aproximativ 5h pe zi.
01:01
And this is why that’s not entirelyîn întregime a good thing:
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Si iata de ce tendinta asta nu este in totalitate un lucru bun:
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because over the agevârstă of 65, your riskrisc of gettingobtinerea AlzheimerBoala Alzheimer’s
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deoarece peste varsta de 65 de ani, riscul de a dezvolta boala Alzheimer
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or ParkinsonParkinson’s diseaseboală will increasecrește exponentiallyexponențial.
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sau Parkinson creste exponential.
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By 2050, there’llll be about 32 millionmilion people in the UnitedMarea StatesStatele
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Prin 2050 vor fi aproximativ 32 de milioane de oameni in Statele Unite
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over the agevârstă of 80, and unlessdacă nu we do something about it,
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cu varste de peste 80 de ani, si daca nu facem ceva,
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halfjumătate of them will have AlzheimerBoala Alzheimer’s diseaseboală
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jumatate dintre ei vor avea boala Alzheimer
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and threeTrei millionmilion more will have ParkinsonParkinson’s diseaseboală.
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iar alte 3 milioane vor avea boala Parkinson.
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Right now, those and other neurologicneurologice diseasesboli --
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Chiar in momentul de fata, aceste boli si alte afectiuni neurologice --
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for whichcare we have no curevindeca or preventionprofilaxie --
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pentru care nu avem niciun tratament sau metoda de preventie --
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costa costat about a thirdal treilea of a trilliontrilion dollarsdolari a yearan.
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costa aproximativ o treime de trilion de dolari pe an.
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It will be well over a trilliontrilion dollarsdolari by 2050.
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Va fi cu mult peste un trilion de dolari in 2050.
01:36
AlzheimerBoala Alzheimer’s diseaseboală startsîncepe when a proteinproteină
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Boala Alzheimer incepe cand o proteina
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that should be foldedpliat up properlycum se cuvine
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care ar trebui sa fie pliata cumsecade
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misfoldsmisfolds into a kinddrăguț of dementeddement origamiOrigami.
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se pliaza gresit intr-un soi de origami dement.
01:44
So one approachabordare we’reRe takingluare is to try to designproiecta drugsdroguri
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Deci una dintre abordari este de a crea medicamente
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that functionfuncţie like molecularmolecular ScotchScotch tapebandă,
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care sa functioneze ca un adeziv molecular,
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to holddeține the proteinproteină into its properBuna shapeformă.
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si sa tina proteina in forma ei justa.
01:53
That would keep it from formingformare the tanglesîncurcăturile
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Asta ar trebui sa o impiedice sa formeze ghemuri
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that seempărea to killucide largemare sectionssecțiuni of the braincreier when they do.
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care par a fi responsabile de distrugerea unor mari portiuni din creier atunci cand apar.
01:59
InterestinglyInteresant enoughdestul, other neurologicneurologice diseasesboli
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Este interesant insa ca si alte boli neurologice
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whichcare affecta afecta very differentdiferit partspărți of the braincreier
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care afecteaza parti foarte diferite din creier
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alsode asemenea showspectacol tanglesîncurcăturile of misfoldedmisfolded proteinproteină,
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prezinta de asemenea ghemuri de proteine pliate gresit,
02:07
whichcare suggestssugerează that the approachabordare mightar putea be a generalgeneral one,
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fapt care sugereaza ca strategia propusa ar putea fi generala,
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and mightar putea be used to curevindeca manymulți neurologicneurologice diseasesboli,
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si sa poate fi folosita in tratarea mai multor boli neurologice.
02:12
not just AlzheimerBoala Alzheimer’s diseaseboală.
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nu numai a bolii Alzheimer.
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There’s alsode asemenea a fascinatingfascinant connectionconexiune to cancercancer here,
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Mai exista si o interesanta conexiune cu cancerul aici,
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because people with neurologicneurologice diseasesboli
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deoarece oamenii cu afectiuni neurologice
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have a very lowscăzut incidenceincidenţă of mostcel mai cancerscancere.
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au o foarte mica incidenta a cancerelor.
02:22
And this is a connectionconexiune that mostcel mai people arenNu-i’t pursuingurmărirea right now,
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Si iata ca aceasta este o legatura pe care cei mai multi oameni nu o cerceteaza in prezent,
02:25
but whichcare we’reRe fascinatedfascinat by.
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dar de care suntem fascinati.
02:28
MostCele mai multe of the importantimportant and all of the creativecreator work in this areazonă
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Mare parte din munca importanta si intregul efort creativ in acest domeniu
02:31
is beingfiind fundedfinanțat by privateprivat philanthropiesPhilanthropies.
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sunt finantate de fundatiile filantropice private.
02:34
And there’s tremendousextraordinar scopedomeniu for additionalsuplimentare privateprivat help here,
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Si inca mai este loc pentru o multime de ajutor privat,
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because the governmentGuvern has droppedscăzut the ballminge on much of this, I’m afraidsperiat.
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pentru ca ma tem ca guvernul a cam lasat balta acest domeniu.
02:40
In the meantimeîntre timp, while we’reRe waitingaşteptare for all these things to happenîntâmpla,
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In timp ce asteptam ca aceste lucruri sa se intample,
02:44
here’s what you can do for yourselftu.
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iata ce puteti face pentru voi insiva.
02:46
If you want to lowerinferior your riskrisc of ParkinsonParkinson’s diseaseboală,
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Daca vreti sa diminuati riscul pentru boala Parkinson,
02:48
caffeinecofeină is protectivede protecţie to some extentmăsură; nobodynimeni knowsștie why.
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cafeina protejeaza intr-o oarecare masura; nimeni nu stie de ce.
02:53
HeadCap injuriesleziuni are badrău for you. They leadconduce to ParkinsonParkinson’s diseaseboală.
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Leziunile capului sunt insa daunatoare. Ele pot precipita aparitia bolii Parkinson.
02:56
And the AvianAviare FluGripa is alsode asemenea not a good ideaidee.
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De asemenea gripa aviara nu este o idee prea buna.
03:01
As fardeparte as protectingprotectoare yourselftu againstîmpotriva AlzheimerBoala Alzheimer’s diseaseboală,
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Cat despre protectia impotriva bolii Alzheimer,
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well, it turnstransformă out that fishpeşte oilulei has the effectefect
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pare ca uleiul de peste are un efect
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of reducingreduce your riskrisc for AlzheimerBoala Alzheimer’s diseaseboală.
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de reducere a riscului pentru aceasta boala.
03:10
You should alsode asemenea keep your bloodsânge pressurepresiune down,
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De asemenea ar trebui sa tineti presiunea sangelui in limite decente,
03:12
because chroniccronice highînalt bloodsânge pressurepresiune
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deoarece hipertensiunea cronica
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is the biggestCea mai mare singlesingur riskrisc factorfactor for AlzheimerBoala Alzheimer’s diseaseboală.
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este unicul mare factor de risc in boala Alzheimer.
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It’s alsode asemenea the biggestCea mai mare riskrisc factorfactor for glaucomaglaucom,
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Tot ea reprezinta cel mai mare factor de risc pentru glaucom,
03:19
whichcare is just AlzheimerBoala Alzheimer’s diseaseboală of the eyeochi.
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care este un fel de boala Alzheimer a ochiului.
03:22
And of coursecurs, when it comesvine to cognitivecognitiv effectsefecte,
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Si desigur, cand ajungem la efectele cognitive,
03:24
"use it or losepierde it" appliesse aplică,
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principiul "foloseste sau pierde totul" se aplica pe deplin,
03:26
so you want to staystau mentallymental stimulatedstimulate.
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si de aceea ar fi bine sa va mentineti stimulati mental.
03:28
But hey, you’reRe listeningascultare to me.
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Dar uite ca acum ma ascultati pe mine.
03:30
So you’veve got that coveredacoperit.
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Deci partea asta o aveti acoperita.
03:32
And one finalfinal thing. WishDoresc people like me lucknoroc, okay?
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Si inca un lucru la final. Urati celor ca mine multa bafta, da?
03:36
Because the clockceas is tickingticăit for all of us.
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Pentru ca ceasul bate pentru noi toti.
03:38
Thank you.
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Va multumesc.
Translated by Traian Popa
Reviewed by Stoica Cristina

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Gregory Petsko - Bioengineer
Gregory Petsko is a biochemist who studies the proteins of the body and their biochemical function. Working with Dagmar Ringe, he's doing pioneering work in the way we look at proteins and what they do.

Why you should listen

Gregory Petsko's own biography, on his Brandeis faculty homepage, might seem intimidatingly abstruse to the non-biochemist -- he studies "the structural basis for efficient enzymic catalysis of proton and hydride transfer; the role of the metal ions in bridged bimetalloenzyme active sites; direct visualization of proteins in action by time-resolved protein crystallography; the evolution of new enzyme activities from old ones; and the biology of the quiescent state in eukaryotic cells."

But for someone so deeply in touch with the minutest parts of our bodies, Petsko is also a wide-ranging mind, concerned about larger health policy issues. The effect of mass population shifts -- such as our current trend toward a senior-citizen society -- maps onto his world of tiny proteins to create a compeling new worldview.

More profile about the speaker
Gregory Petsko | Speaker | TED.com