英國科學(xué)家通過(guò)一項研究發(fā)現，大腦年齡較實(shí)際年齡大的人健康風(fēng)險更大，更易早逝。這項研究有助于醫生過(guò)分析患者的大腦發(fā)現早逝風(fēng)險，給患者一個(gè)提醒。但該項研究開(kāi)發(fā)的技術(shù)目前還不能精確地應用到個(gè)人層面。
科學(xué)家發(fā)現大腦衰老者容易早逝
譯者&筆記：趙萌萌
校對：馬里奧
策劃：鄒世昌
People whose 'brain age' is older than their real age more likely to die early
“腦齡”較實(shí)際年齡大者更易早逝
本文選自 The Guardian | 取經(jīng)號原創(chuàng )翻譯
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Scientists at Imperial College London used MRI scans and algorithms to produce computer-generated brain age and spot risk of dying young.
倫敦帝國學(xué)院的科學(xué)家使用磁共振掃描和算法規則，計算機生成人腦年齡，并發(fā)現早逝的風(fēng)險。
Doctors may be able to warn patients if they are at risk of early death by analysing their brains, British scientists have discovered.
英國科學(xué)家發(fā)現，醫生可通過(guò)分析患者的大腦發(fā)現早逝風(fēng)險，給患者一個(gè)提醒。
Those whose brains appeared older than their true age were more likely to die early and to be in worse physical and mental health, a study by Imperial College London found.
倫敦帝國學(xué)院的一項調查發(fā)現，腦齡較實(shí)際年齡更大的人更易早逝，且生理和心理健康更差。
The research found a way of predicting someone’s “brain age” that could help to spot those at risk of dying young.
這一研究找到了一個(gè)預測人們“腦齡”的方法，該方法能夠幫助發(fā)現早逝風(fēng)險。
The study, piloted in Scotland, suggests using MRI scans to estimate a person’s brain age compared with their real age could also help to spot who might be at increased risk of poor health as they grow older.
這一在蘇格蘭試點(diǎn)的實(shí)驗顯示，使用磁共振掃描預測“腦齡”并和真實(shí)年齡進(jìn)行比較，有助于發(fā)現隨著(zhù)年齡增大，身體狀況變差的高風(fēng)險人群。
By combining MRI scans with machine learning algorithms, a team of neuroscientists trained computers to predict the age of a person’s brain based on their volume of brain tissue.
一組神經(jīng)學(xué)家通過(guò)結合磁共振掃描和機器學(xué)習算法，基于人們的腦組織容量，訓練計算機預測人腦的年齡。
When the technique was tested on a group of older adults in Scotland, they found that the greater the difference between the computer-generated brain age and the person’s actual age, the higher their risk of poor mental and physical health and the more likely they were to die before they turned 80.
使用這一技術(shù)在蘇格蘭測試一組較老年人發(fā)現，計算機生成的大腦年齡與人們的實(shí)際年齡差距越大，心理和身體健康情況不佳的風(fēng)險就越高，且他們更易在80歲之前去世。
Those with a brain age older than their real age also had weaker grip, lower lung capacity and slower walking speed.
那些腦齡較實(shí)際年齡大的人理解力較弱，肺活量較低，走路速度更慢。
Researchers say that if the initial findings could be applied to a screening programme, the technique could be used to inform doctors, showing whether or not a patient had a healthy brain age or was above or below the line, similar to how body mass index (BMI) is used. They could then advise patients to change their lifestyle or start a course of treatment.
研究人員表示，如果初期發(fā)現可用在篩選程序中，那么這技術(shù)就可以用于提醒醫生，讓他們展示某患者的大腦年齡是否健康，偏大或者偏小，類(lèi)似于體重指數的應用。醫生就可以建議病人改變生活方式或接受一輪治療。
James Cole, a research associate who led the study, said: “People use the ‘a(chǎn)ge’ of an organ all the time to talk about health. Smokers are said to have lungs that are 20 years older than they should be, you can even answer online questionnaires about exercise and diet and get a ‘heart age’. This technique could eventually be like that.”
該研究的一位研究員詹姆斯.科爾表示：“人們一直用某器官的‘年齡’討論健康問(wèn)題。據說(shuō)吸煙者的肺比應有年齡老20歲，你甚至可以在回答了與鍛煉和飲食相關(guān)的問(wèn)卷后得到一個(gè)‘心臟年齡’。該技術(shù)最終會(huì )像它們一樣?！?/span>
However, it would need more fine-tuning for accuracy before it could be used in this way, Cole said. At present it has a margin of error of about five years. MRI scans are also currently too expensive to be used as a widespread screening tool but researchers hope that costs will come down in the future.
但是，該技術(shù)在被使用之前還需更多的微調以提高精準度，科爾如是說(shuō)?，F在，該技術(shù)還有約五年的誤差幅度。目前，磁共振掃描的價(jià)格太高，還不能廣泛應用于篩選。但研究者希望未來(lái)能夠降低磁共振掃描的價(jià)格。
“In the long run it would be great if we could do this accurately enough so that we could do it at an individual level,” he said. “However, at the moment, it’s not sufficiently accurate to be used at that sort of individual level.”
“長(cháng)期來(lái)看，如果我們能夠足夠精確地在個(gè)人層面使用該技術(shù)，那就很棒?！彼f(shuō)?！叭欢F階段，該技術(shù)還不夠精確到足以應用于個(gè)人層面?！?/span>
學(xué)習筆記
MRI也就是磁共振成像，英文全稱(chēng)是：Magnetic Resonance Imaging。在這項技術(shù)誕生之初曾被稱(chēng)為核磁共振成像, 因此，為了突出這一檢查技術(shù)不產(chǎn)生電離輻射的優(yōu)點(diǎn)，同時(shí)與使用放射性元素的核醫學(xué)相區別，放射學(xué)家和設備制造商均同意把“核磁共振成像術(shù)”簡(jiǎn)稱(chēng)為“磁共振成像（MRI）” 與CT一樣，磁共振成像也幾乎適用于全身各系統的不同疾病，例如腫瘤、炎癥、創(chuàng )傷、退行性病變，以及各種先天性疾病等的檢查。
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