Risk for Dementia May Increase With Long-Term Use of Certain Medicines

　　长期服用某些药物可能会增加患老年痴呆症的风险

　　Can certain medications increase your risk of dementia? A new study suggests that people who take a class of common medicines called anticholinergic drugs for several years may be more likely to develop dementia as they age.

　　某些药物会增加患老年痴呆症的风险吗?一项新的研究表明，随着年龄的增长，长年服用抗胆碱能药物的人更有可能患老年痴呆症。

　　This is not a new hypothesis about these drugs, which are used to treat a wide range of conditions from depression to epilepsy to incontinence.

　　抗胆碱能药物常被用于治疗抑郁症、癫痫和失禁等各类疾病，此次研究并不是针对这类药物进行的新假设。

　　But the study, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, is large, and it analyzed the use of the medications in more detail and over a longer period of time than many previous studies.

　　但发表于《美国医学会内科杂志》上的这项研究有着很大的规模，它比之前的许多研究更详细、更长期地研究了这类药物的使用情况。

　　Anticholinergic drugs include the antipsychotic clozapine; the bladder drug darifenacin; the anti-nausea drug scopolamine; the bronchodilator ipratropium; the muscle relaxant tizanidine; antihistamines such as diphenhydramine, and antidepressants such as paroxetine.

　　抗胆碱能药物包括抗精神病药物氯氮平、膀胱药物达非那星、止吐药东莨菪碱、支气管扩张剂异丙托铵、肌肉松弛剂替扎尼定、抗组胺药物苯海拉明、以及抗抑郁药物帕罗西汀等。

　　These medications work by blocking a chemical called acetylcholine, which acts as a neurotransmitter and is involved in many nervous system functions including muscle movements, heart rate, the widening of blood vessels, respiratory functions and muscle contractions in the stomach during digestion.

　　这类药物通过抑制化学物质乙酰胆碱而发挥作用，作为一种神经递质的乙酰胆碱在人体消化过程中参与了许多神经系统功能，包括肌肉运动、心率、血管扩张、呼吸功能和胃部肌肉收缩等。

　　Older adults are more likely to be prescribed many of these medications, simply because they tend to have more health issues. Some experts say that because people produce less acetylcholine as they age, drugs that inhibit that neurochemical can have a stronger effect on older people.

　　老年人更有可能被医生开具这类药物，往往只是因为他们的身体存在更多的健康问题。一些专家说，随着年龄的增长，人体合成的乙酰胆碱越来越少，因此抑制这种神经递质的药物对老年人的影响可能更大。

　　It's possible, but not proven, that some anticholinergic drugs increase the risk of dementia. If you need long-term treatment for one of the relevant medical conditions, talk to your doctor about other medication options that are not in the anticholinergic class, such as antidepressants like Celexa and Prozac. In many cases, there may be choices.

　　一些抗胆碱能药物可能会增加患老年痴呆症的风险，但这一结论尚未得到证实。如果你需要长期服用这类药物中的一种以治疗疾病，那么你应该和你的医生谈谈其他不含抗胆碱能类药物的治疗方案，比如抗抑郁药用西酞普兰和百忧解等药物替代。在许多情况下，也许有其他的选择。

　　(全文共280个词，纽约时报)

　　重难点词汇：

　　incontinence  n. 失禁；无节制；不能自制

　　function  n. 功能；函数；职责 vi. 运行；活动；行使职责

　　respiratory  adj. 呼吸的

　　prescribe  vi./vt. 规定；开处方

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