ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Samuel Cohen - Research scientist
Samuel Cohen researches Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Why you should listen
Samuel Cohen is a Research Fellow in Biophysical Chemistry at St. John's College and the Centre for Misfolding Diseases in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, from where he holds PhD, MSci, MA and BA degrees. Cohen has worked as a consultant in the London office of Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he specialized in the healthcare, technology and media sectors. His scientific research focuses on neurodegenerative disorders. He is co-author of more than 20 scientific papers, book chapters and patents, and was recently a lead author on a widely-reported study in which researchers made a major breakthrough towards finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease.
More profile about the speaker
Samuel Cohen | Speaker | TED.com
TED@BCG London

Samuel Cohen: Alzheimer's is not normal aging — and we can cure it

Samuel Cohen: 阿茲海默症不是自然衰老的現象 — 所以我們應該治好它

Filmed:
2,376,932 views

現在全球有超過4千萬人受到阿茲海默症的折磨,而且預計未來患者人數還會激増。但是自從在100多年前,有醫生把它歸類為疾病後,我們對抗它一直毫無進展。科學家 Samuel Cohen 分享他在實驗室所進行阿茲海默症研究,並獲得新突破;同時也給我們帶來希望。他指出:「阿茲海默症是疾病,而且我們能夠治好它。」
- Research scientist
Samuel Cohen researches Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Full bio

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

00:12
In the year 1901,
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在1901年,
00:14
a woman女人 called Auguste奧古斯特 was taken採取
to a medical asylum避難所 in Frankfurt法蘭克福.
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有一名叫Auguste的女士
被送到法蘭克福的醫療精神病所。
00:18
Auguste奧古斯特 was delusional妄想
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當時Auguste 有幻覺,
00:20
and couldn't不能 remember記得
even the most basic基本 details細節 of her life.
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甚至記不起最簡單的生活細節。
00:24
Her doctor醫生 was called Alois阿洛伊斯.
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當時病人的醫生是Alois.
Laois 不知道怎樣幫助她,
00:27
Alois阿洛伊斯 didn't know how to help Auguste奧古斯特,
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00:30
but he watched看著 over her until直到,
sadly可悲的是, she passed通過 away in 1906.
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但他仍然照顧她,
直到她不幸地在1906年逝世。
00:34
After she died死亡, Alois阿洛伊斯 performed執行 an autopsy屍檢
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病人死後,Alois 替她解剖,
00:37
and found發現 strange奇怪 plaques
and tangles纏結 in Auguste's奧古斯特 brain --
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發現Auguste腦部
有不尋常的班塊和物質纏結
00:40
the likes喜歡 of which哪一個 he'd他會 never seen看到 before.
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他從未見過這種情況。
現在還有最令人苦惱的事情。
00:42
Now here's這裡的 the even more striking引人注目 thing.
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00:46
If Auguste奧古斯特 had instead代替 been alive today今天,
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如果Auguste 換作今天仍活著,
00:49
we could offer提供 her no more help
than Alois阿洛伊斯 was able能夠 to 114 years年份 ago.
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我們比114年前Alois可以幫助她的實在不多。
00:56
Alois阿洛伊斯 was Dr博士. Alois阿洛伊斯 Alzheimer老年癡呆症.
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Alois 就是Alois Alzheimer(阿茲海默)醫生。
01:00
And Auguste奧古斯特 Deter阻止
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而 Auguste Deter
01:02
was the first patient患者 to be diagnosed確診 with
what we now call Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 disease疾病.
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就是第一位病人,確診現在稱為「阿茲海默症」。
01:07
Since以來 1901, medicine醫學 has advanced高級 greatly非常.
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自從1901年以來,醫學發展迅速。
01:11
We've我們已經 discovered發現 antibiotics抗生素 and vaccines疫苗
to protect保護 us from infections感染,
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我們發明了抗生素和疫苗預防傳染病丶
01:15
many許多 treatments治療 for cancer癌症,
antiretrovirals抗逆轉錄病毒藥物 for HIVHIV,
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對抗癌症的療法丶愛滋病的藥物,
01:19
statins他汀類藥物 for heart disease疾病 and much more.
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還有施德丁預防心臟病,多不勝數。
01:22
But we've我們已經 made製作 essentially實質上 no progress進展
at all in treating治療 Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 disease疾病.
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但是醫治阿茲海默症,還是停滯不前。
01:30
I'm part部分 of a team球隊 of scientists科學家們
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我是一羣科學家的一員,
01:32
who has been working加工 to find
a cure治愈 for Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 for over a decade.
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致力尋求這個病的療法,已經超過10年。
01:35
So I think about this all the time.
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所以我常常都想找到療方。
01:38
Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 now affects影響
40 million百萬 people worldwide全世界.
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阿茲海默症現在影響全球4千萬人。
01:42
But by 2050, it will affect影響
150 million百萬 people --
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到了2050年,這個病還會影響1.5億人--
01:48
which哪一個, by the way,
will include包括 many許多 of you.
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順便一提,在座很多人也會包括在內。
01:53
If you're hoping希望
to live生活 to be 85 or older舊的,
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如果你想活到85歲或以上,
01:57
your chance機會 of getting得到 Alzheimer's老年癡呆症
will be almost幾乎 one in two.
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你患阿茲海默症的機會幾乎是1/2。
02:03
In other words, odds可能性 are
you'll你會 spend your golden金色 years年份
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換言之,你很可能耗盡你的黃金歲月,
02:06
either suffering痛苦 from Alzheimer's老年癡呆症
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不是受到阿茲海默症的折磨,
02:09
or helping幫助 to look after a friend朋友
or loved喜愛 one with Alzheimer's老年癡呆症.
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就是照顧患這個病的友人或至愛。
02:14
Already已經 in the United聯合的 States狀態 alone單獨,
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僅僅在美國每年已經
02:16
Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 care關心 costs成本
200 billion十億 dollars美元 every一切 year.
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要花費2千億美元照顧這類病人。
02:21
One out of every一切 five
Medicare醫保 dollars美元 get spent花費 on Alzheimer's老年癡呆症.
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每5元的醫療保險
便有一元花在阿茲海默症治療。
02:26
It is today今天 the most expensive昂貴 disease疾病,
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這是今天花費最昂貴的疾病。
02:29
and costs成本 are projected預計
to increase增加 fivefold五倍 by 2050,
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預計到了2050年,成本會增加5倍,
02:33
as the baby寶寶 boomer嬰兒潮一代 generation ages年齡.
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隨著嬰兒潮一代變老。
02:36
It may可能 surprise you that, put simply只是,
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這樣可能令你吃驚,簡單來說,
02:39
Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 is one of the biggest最大 medical
and social社會 challenges挑戰 of our generation.
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這個病是我們這一代
醫療、社會遇到的最大挑戰。
02:44
But we've我們已經 doneDONE relatively相對
little to address地址 it.
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但我們較少關注這個問題。
02:47
Today今天, of the top最佳 10
causes原因 of death死亡 worldwide全世界,
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今日全球十大的致命原因,
02:51
Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 is the only one
we cannot不能 prevent避免, cure治愈 or even slow down.
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只有阿茲海默症是不能預防、
治愈或者甚至減慢惡化。
02:59
We understand理解 less about the science科學
of Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 than other diseases疾病
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我們認識這個病比其他病症貧乏。
因為投資了很少時間和金錢來研究它。
03:03
because we've我們已經 invested投資 less time
and money into researching研究 it.
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03:07
The US government政府
spends 10 times more every一切 year
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美國政府每年花费在癌症研究
比在阿茲海默症的高10倍有多。
03:11
on cancer癌症 research研究 than on Alzheimer's老年癡呆症
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03:14
despite儘管 the fact事實
that Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 costs成本 us more
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儘管我們花在阿茲海默症費用較多,
03:18
and causes原因 a similar類似 number
of deaths死亡 each year as cancer癌症.
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而且毎年的死亡數字跟癌症相若。
03:23
The lack缺乏 of resources資源
stems from a more fundamental基本的 cause原因:
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這個病資源缺乏的主要原因:
人們還未醒覺到這個病的嚴重。
03:27
a lack缺乏 of awareness意識.
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03:30
Because here's這裡的 what few少數 people know
but everyone大家 should:
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因為只是少數人知道是不夠的,
而是每個人都如是:
03:35
Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 is a disease疾病,
and we can cure治愈 it.
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阿茲海默症是一種病,而我們可以治好它。
03:40
For most of the past過去 114 years年份,
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在過去114年的大部分時間,
03:42
everyone大家, including包含 scientists科學家們, mistakenly
confused困惑 Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 with aging老化.
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所有人包括科學家,
誤以為年老引致阿茲海默症。
03:48
We thought that becoming變得 senile衰老
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我們以往認為老年病是
03:49
was a normal正常 and inevitable必然
part部分 of getting得到 old.
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是衰老過程中不可避免的現象。
03:53
But we only have to look at a picture圖片
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但是只要看看這一幅圖
03:55
of a healthy健康 aged brain compared相比
to the brain of an Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 patient患者
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比較一個健康的老人腦部
和阿茲海默症病人的腦部,
03:58
to see the real真實 physical物理 damage損傷
caused造成 by this disease疾病.
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來認識這個病對身體做成的傷害。
04:02
As well as triggering觸發 severe嚴重 loss失利
of memory記憶 and mental心理 abilities能力,
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還引致嚴重失憶和心智能力退化,
04:06
the damage損傷 to the brain
caused造成 by Alzheimer's老年癡呆症
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阿茲海默症損害病人腦部,
04:09
significantly顯著 reduces減少 life expectancy期待
and is always fatal致命.
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明顯地降低病人的預期夀命,
更往往足以致命。
04:14
Remember記得 Dr博士. Alzheimer老年癡呆症
found發現 strange奇怪 plaques and tangles纏結
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還記得一個世紀前,
Alzheimer醫生在Auguste腦部,
04:17
in Auguste's奧古斯特 brain a century世紀 ago.
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發現異常的塊狀和物質纏結。
04:20
For almost幾乎 a century世紀,
we didn't know much about these.
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差不多過了一個世紀,我們仍然所知不多。
04:24
Today今天 we know they're made製作
from protein蛋白 molecules分子.
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今日我們知道它是用蛋白質分子製成。
04:27
You can imagine想像 a protein蛋白 molecule分子
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你可以把蛋白質分子想像成一張紙,
04:29
as a piece of paper that normally一般 folds褶皺
into an elaborate闡述 piece of origami摺紙.
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常常用來折疊精巧的摺紙作品。
04:34
There are spots斑點
on the paper that are sticky.
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紙面佈滿粘性小點,
04:36
And when it folds褶皺 correctly正確地,
these sticky bits end結束 up on the inside.
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如果摺得正確,那些小點最後留在作品裡面。
04:41
But sometimes有時 things go wrong錯誤,
and some sticky bits are on the outside.
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可是有時摺疊出錯,有些粘性小點留在外面。
04:46
This causes原因 the protein蛋白 molecules分子
to stick to each other,
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這樣令到蛋白質分子互相粘著一起,
04:49
forming成型 clumps團塊 that eventually終於 become成為
large plaques and tangles纏結.
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變成一塊,最後結成大塊和纒結。
04:53
That's what we see
in the brains大腦 of Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 patients耐心.
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阿茲海默病人的腦部就是這樣。
04:57
We've我們已經 spent花費 the past過去 10 years年份
at the University大學 of Cambridge劍橋
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我們在劍橋大學花了10時間,
05:00
trying to understand理解
how this malfunction故障 works作品.
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想了解這種錯誤機能的原理。
05:03
There are many許多 steps腳步, and identifying識別
which哪一個 step to try to block is complex複雜 --
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但有很多步驟,
若要找出那一個步需要停止很複雜。
05:08
like defusing化解 a bomb炸彈.
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好像在拆除一個炸彈一樣。
05:10
Cutting切割 one wire might威力 do nothing.
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剪去一條電線未必有用。
05:12
Cutting切割 others其他 might威力
make the bomb炸彈 explore探索.
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但是再剪下一條,可能引起炸彈爆炸。
05:16
We have to find the right step to block,
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我們必須找到關鍵的一步加以制止,
05:18
and then create創建 a drug藥物 that does it.
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然後對症下藥。
05:21
Until直到 recently最近, we for the most part部分
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直到最近,我們把大部分時間
05:23
have been cutting切割 wires電線
and hoping希望 for the best最好.
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花在剪斷迴路,希望得到好結果。
05:25
But now we've我們已經 got together一起
a diverse多種 group of people --
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但是現在我們聯合不同背景的人--
05:28
medics醫務人員, biologists生物學家, geneticists遺傳學家, chemists化學家,
physicists物理學家, engineers工程師 and mathematicians數學家.
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有醫生、生物學家丶遺傳學家丶化學家等等。
05:34
And together一起, we've我們已經 managed管理
to identify鑑定 a critical危急 step in the process處理
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大家一切找出那個重要的步驟,
05:38
and are now testing測試 a new class of drugs毒品
which哪一個 would specifically特別 block this step
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現正試驗新藥,將專門阻止它,
05:42
and stop the disease疾病.
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然後打退疾病。
05:44
Now let me show顯示 you
some of our latest最新 results結果.
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現在由我來給你看其中最新的結果。
05:46
No one outside of our lab實驗室
has seen看到 these yet然而.
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實驗室以㚈的人從未看過。
05:49
Let's look at some videos視頻 of what happened發生
when we tested測試 these new drugs毒品 in worms蠕蟲.
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現在讓大家看看影片,我們把蟲用作新藥試驗後,
發生了什麼事。
05:54
So these are healthy健康 worms蠕蟲,
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這是健康蟲,
05:56
and you can see
they're moving移動 around normally一般.
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你可以看到它們正常地周圍移動。
05:59
These worms蠕蟲, on the other hand,
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但是這批蟲
06:02
have protein蛋白 molecules分子
sticking癥結 together一起 inside them --
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身體內的蛋白質分子卻粘著一起--
06:05
like humans人類 with Alzheimer's老年癡呆症.
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就如患有阿茲海默症的人類。
06:07
And you can see they're clearly明確地 sick生病.
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很清楚看到牠們是病了。
06:09
But if we give our new drugs毒品
to these worms蠕蟲 at an early stage階段,
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但如果我們在這些蟲患病初期給予新藥,
06:14
then we see that they're healthy健康,
and they live生活 a normal正常 lifespan壽命.
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牠們便會康復,並生存到常規壽命
06:19
This is just an initial初始 positive result結果,
but research研究 like this
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這只是初步的正面結果,不過類似的研究
06:22
shows節目 us that Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 is a disease疾病
that we can understand理解 and we can cure治愈.
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證明我們可以了解阿茲海默症,還可以治好它。
06:27
After 114 years年份 of waiting等候,
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等了114年,
06:30
there's finally最後 real真實 hope希望
for what can be achieved實現
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終於有希望在以後的10至20年
打敗阿茲海默症。
06:32
in the next下一個 10 or 20 years年份.
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06:36
But to grow增長 that hope希望,
to finally最後 beat擊敗 Alzheimer's老年癡呆症, we need help.
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為了繼續燃點希望和最終擊敗這個病,
我們需要援助。
06:40
This isn't about scientists科學家們 like me --
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不是需要像我這班科學家。
06:42
it's about you.
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而是需要你的幫忙。
06:44
We need you to raise提高 awareness意識
that Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 is a disease疾病
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提高對阿茲海默症是疾病的認知;
06:48
and that if we try, we can beat擊敗 it.
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如果我們肯嘗試,必定能夠打敗它。
06:50
In the case案件 of other diseases疾病,
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至於其他病例,
06:52
patients耐心 and their families家庭
have led the charge收費 for more research研究
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病人和家人帶頭要求做更多的研究,
06:55
and put pressure壓力 on governments政府,
the pharmaceutical製藥 industry行業,
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施加壓力給政府丶藥劑業丶
06:58
scientists科學家們 and regulators監管機構.
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科學家和監管機構。
07:01
That was essential必要 for advancing前進 treatment治療
for HIVHIV in the late晚了 1980s.
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這對於1980晚期,改善HIV治療非常重要的。
07:05
Today今天, we see that same相同 drive駕駛
to beat擊敗 cancer癌症.
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今天也見到同樣的幹勁去打擊癌症。
07:10
But Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 patients耐心 are often經常
unable無法 to speak說話 up for themselves他們自己.
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但阿茲海默症病人常常不能表達自己的意見。
07:14
And their families家庭, the hidden victims受害者,
caring愛心 for their loved喜愛 ones那些 night and day,
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病人家屬--隱形受害人,日以繼夜照顧病人,
07:19
are often經常 too worn磨損的 out
to go out and advocate主張 for change更改.
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再走出來推動改革,通常已經疲憊不堪。
07:23
So, it really is down to you.
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所以現在真是只靠你了。
07:27
Alzheimer's老年癡呆症 isn't,
for the most part部分, a genetic遺傳 disease疾病.
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阿茲海默症並不全部是遺傳病。
07:31
Everyone大家 with a brain is at risk風險.
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每個有腦的人都有危險。
07:34
Today今天, there are 40 million百萬
patients耐心 like Auguste奧古斯特,
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今日有將近4千萬好像Auguste的病人,
07:38
who can't create創建 the change更改
they need for themselves他們自己.
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他們不能替自己的需要推行改革。
07:41
Help speak說話 up for them,
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請替他們發聲,
07:44
and help demand需求 a cure治愈.
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要求治療的良方。
07:47
Thank you.
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多謝。
07:48
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Wink Wong
Reviewed by Muyun Zhou

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Samuel Cohen - Research scientist
Samuel Cohen researches Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Why you should listen
Samuel Cohen is a Research Fellow in Biophysical Chemistry at St. John's College and the Centre for Misfolding Diseases in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, from where he holds PhD, MSci, MA and BA degrees. Cohen has worked as a consultant in the London office of Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he specialized in the healthcare, technology and media sectors. His scientific research focuses on neurodegenerative disorders. He is co-author of more than 20 scientific papers, book chapters and patents, and was recently a lead author on a widely-reported study in which researchers made a major breakthrough towards finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease.
More profile about the speaker
Samuel Cohen | Speaker | TED.com