研究：电子医疗设备有助于提高肌肉力量
📖 逐句对照翻译
Researchers recently reported new evidence from a study of a medical device placed inside the body, a spine-stimulating implant.
研究人员最近报告了一项关于植入体内的医疗设备——脊柱刺激植入物——研究的新证据。
Three people with a muscle-destroying disease got a little stronger after using the implant.
三名患有肌肉破坏性疾病的人在使用了这种植入物后变得稍微强壮了一些。
They were able to stand and walk more easily because of electrical stimulation to their spinal cord.
由于对脊髓的电刺激，他们能够更容易地站立和行走。
Marco Capogrosso is an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburg, or Pitt, who led the research.
马可·卡波格罗索是匹兹堡大学（简称匹大）的助理教授，他领导了这项研究。
"These people were definitely not expecting an improvement," he said.
他说：“这些人肯定没有预料到会有改善。”
Capogrosso said, "They were getting better and better," over the study that lasted one month.
卡波格罗索表示，在这项为期一个月的研究中，“他们的表现越来越好。”
Returning muscle function
恢复肌肉功能
The implant was able to return some muscle function, at least temporarily.
该植入物能够恢复部分肌肉功能，至少是暂时性的。
The implant was already being tested to treat paralysis in other patients.
该植入装置已在其他患者身上测试用于治疗瘫痪。
This new evidence suggests it might also aid diseases of the nervous system like spinal muscle atrophy, or SMA.
这一新证据表明，它可能还有助于治疗神经系统疾病，如脊髓性肌萎缩症（SMA）。
SMA is a genetic disease that slowly destroys motor neurons, nerve cells in the spinal cord that control muscles.
SMA是一种遗传性疾病，它会逐渐破坏运动神经元，即脊髓中控制肌肉的神经细胞。
That leads muscles to waste away, especially in the legs, hips, and shoulders and sometimes those involved with breathing and swallowing.
这会导致肌肉萎缩，特别是在腿部、臀部和肩部，有时还会影响呼吸和吞咽相关的肌肉。
There is no cure.
没有治愈的方法。
A gene therapy can save the lives of very young children with a severe form of the disease, and there are some medicines to slow the disease in older patients.
基因疗法可以挽救患有这种疾病严重形式的幼儿的生命，并且有一些药物可以减缓老年患者的病情。
Stimulating the spinal cord with low levels of electricity has long been used to treat chronic, or long-term, pain.
长期以来，利用低强度电流刺激脊髓一直被用于治疗慢性或长期疼痛。
Capogrosso's team also has tested it to help people paralyzed by strokes or spinal cord injury move their arms and legs with assistance.
卡波格罗索的团队还测试了它，以帮助因中风或脊髓损伤而瘫痪的人在辅助下移动手臂和腿。
The system sends electrical signals to nerves that have stopped reacting.
系统向已经停止反应的神经发送电信号。
This has the effect of activating the muscles.
这具有激活肌肉的效果。
Capogrosso wondered if that same technology might help patients with SMA by stimulating sensory nerves to signal damaged muscle cells causing them to move.
卡波格罗索想知道，同样的技术是否可以通过刺激感觉神经向受损的肌肉细胞发送信号，促使它们运动，从而帮助脊髓性肌萎缩症患者。
The researchers at the University of Pittsburgh published their study in Nature Medicine.
匹兹堡大学的研究人员将他们的研究发表在《自然医学》上。
They implanted electrodes over the lower spinal cord of the three adults with SMA.
他们在三名脊髓性肌萎缩症成年患者的脊髓下部植入了电极。
Using the device did not return normal movement but with a few hours of spinal stimulation a week, all soon experienced improvements in muscle strength and function, the researchers wrote.
研究人员写道，使用该设备并未使患者恢复正常运动，但每周进行几个小时的脊髓刺激后，所有人很快都出现了肌肉力量和功能的改善。
"You never get better"
你永远不会变得更好
Fifty-seven-year-old Doug McCullough took part in the study.
57岁的道格·麦卡洛参加了这项研究。
"With a progressive disease you never get any better," he said, adding, “So having any improvement is just a really surreal and very exciting benefit.
“对于一种进行性疾病，你永远不会好转，”他说，并补充道，“因此，任何改善都只是一种非常超现实且极其令人兴奋的益处。
"
“
All three subjects increased how far they could walk in six minutes by the study's end.
到研究结束时，所有三名受试者六分钟内能行走的距离都有所增加。
Capogrosso said they could walk farther because they got less tired and “even a person this many years into the disease can improve.
卡波格罗索表示，他们能走得更远是因为没那么累了，而且“即使是患病这么多年的患者也能有所改善。”
"
“
Researchers found the improvements did not disappear as soon as the stimulator was turned off.
研究人员发现，即使刺激器关闭，这些改善也不会立即消失。
But they did decrease a few months after the study ended.
但在研究结束几个月后，它们确实减少了。
Neuroscientist Susan Harkema led similar studies of stimulation for spinal cord injuries while at the University of Louisville.
神经科学家苏珊·哈克马在路易斯维尔大学期间，领导了类似的脊髓损伤刺激研究。
She warned that the new study is small and did not last very long but said it was an important test of the device.
她警告说，这项新研究规模较小，持续时间也不长，但她表示，这是对该设备的一项重要测试。
She said it should be tested next with other muscle-degenerating diseases.
她说，接下来应该在其他肌肉退化疾病中测试这种方法。
Capogrosso said some small but longer studies are beginning.
卡波格罗索表示，一些规模较小但持续时间更长的研究正在开始。
I’m Dorothy Gundy.
我是多萝西·冈迪。
Lauran Neergaard reported this story for the Associated Press.
劳伦·尼尔加德为美联社报道了这一故事。
Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English.
吉尔·罗宾斯为《学习英语》改编了它。
