雅皮士流感：不是装病是真病

The debilitating condition once derided as ‘yuppie flu’ is a genuine illness, researchers say.

雅皮士流感是一种能让人慢慢衰竭的疾病，虽然曾经受到诸多嘲讽，但研究人员称，这其实是一种真实存在的病。

Controversy has raged for nearly 30 years as to whether the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome are real or all in the mind.

近30年来，关于慢性疲劳综合征的症状是否存在，一直争议不断。

Now a study shows the condition, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis or ME, does trigger a distinctive immune response in the body.

如今，一份研究表明，这种病，也就是肌痛性脑脊髓炎（ME），的确能引发人体内的一种特殊的免疫反应。

The discovery paves the way for treatments that, given early enough, could prevent years of ill health.

这项发现为相关治疗提供了依据。而只要尽早采取治疗，就能预防常年的健康损害。

It should also help ease the stigma that has led to sufferers being dismissed as malingerers who imagine their symptoms.

同时，这项研究也能缓解患者因被怀疑装病而遭解雇的屈辱感。

ME affects some 250,000 Britons and is more common in women than men. It was called ‘yuppie flu’ in the 1980s because sufferers tend to be aged between 20 and 40 and the illness was most frequently seen among professional people.

大约有两百五十万英国人患有此病，其中女性患病率更高。二十世纪八十年代，这种疾病被称为“雅皮士流感”，因为大多数患者年龄介于20岁到40岁之间，且多为专业人士。

Symptoms include extreme physical and mental fatigue and painful limbs. The condition can also affect memory, concentration and digestion, with some sufferers left so weak that they lose their job or become bed or wheelchair-bound. But with the cause unclear, scepticism has remained as to whether it is a physical illness or merely psychological.

此病的症状包括身心极度疲惫，四肢疼痛。这种病也能对记忆力、注意力和消化功能造成损害，因此一些患者变得越来越虚弱，以至于失去工作或者瘫痪在床，或依赖轮椅行动。由于病因不明，人们怀疑这到底是生理疾病，又或仅仅是心理上的疾病。

The researchers, from Columbia University in New York, analysed hundreds of blood samples taken from ME patients and healthy people. The blood from those with ME showed a distinct ‘chemical signature’.

纽约哥伦比亚大学的研究者们对数百份分别取自肌痛性脑脊髓炎患者和健康人的血液样本进行了分析，发现ME患者的血液显示出了明显的“化学特征”。

It had higher levels of various compounds released by the immune system to defend the body against infection. The link with an immune protein, interferon gamma, was particularly strong, the journal Science Advances reports.

据《科学前沿》报道，为了抵御感染，ME患者的免疫系统释放了更高水平的化合物。其中，类似免疫蛋白、干扰素γ的化合物特别多。

Interferon gamma is blamed for the extreme tiredness that follows some viral infections and has also been linked to problems with memory.

极度的疲劳感就是干扰素γ导致的，该症状紧随病毒性感染之后出现，同时与记忆损伤也有关联。

The finding may help researchers develop the first diagnostic test for ME. It also raises hope of better treatments. Drugs that lower levels of some of the immune proteins already exist.

该发现也许可以帮助研究人员进行肌痛性脑脊髓炎的首次诊断测试，同时也增加了发现更好治疗方式的希望。目前已经有一些降低免疫蛋白水平的药物。

‘This study delivers what has eluded us for so long: unequivocal evidence of immunological dysfunction in ME and diagnostic biomarkers for disease,’ said researcher Dr Ian Lipkin.

“这项研究解开了我们多年来的困惑：提供了肌痛性脑脊髓炎导致免疫功能障碍以及该病症的诊断性生物标识物的明确证据，”研究员伊恩·利普金博士说。

Lead author Dr Mady Hornig said: ‘We now have evidence confirming what millions with this disease already know, that ME isn’t psychological.’

该研究的主要作者马迪·何宁博士说：“现在我们有证据向上百万患者证明，肌痛性脑脊髓炎并不是心理疾病。”

However, the work is still preliminary and many questions remain to be answered, including why the chemical markers show up only in the blood of patients in the relatively early stages of ME.

但是，这项研究仍处于初步阶段，仍有许多问题等待解决。比如，为何只能在早期患者的血液中发现化学标识物？

Dr Hornig’s team is now looking for signs of the infection that triggered the immune response. Scientists have long thought a virus is to blame but have failed to find the culprit.

何宁博士的研究队伍正在寻找引发免疫反应的感染标志。科学家们一直认为病毒是罪魁祸首，但却一直未能找到这种病毒。

Dr Neil Abbot, of ME Research UK said: ‘A biological signature or thumbprint for ME is the holy grail – it’s what we all want to see. If the immune changes reported in the study can help, it would be a great step forward.’

英国肌痛性脑脊髓炎研究所的尼尔·阿博特博士说：“肌痛性脑脊髓炎的生物标识物或者特征，就像是我们的圣杯——是我们一直想要看到的。如果这项研究发现的免疫变化能有帮助，那么这将是一次伟大的进步。”

The finding that the chemical signature is seen only in the first stages of ME shows the importance of early diagnosis and treatment, he added.

此项研究发现，仅在肌痛性脑脊髓炎早期阶段才会出现化学标识物。这证明早期的诊断与治疗非常重要，他补充道。

Sonya Chowdhury, of Action for ME, said the work ‘could have significant implications for quicker diagnosis and improved treatments’.

负责肌痛性脑脊髓炎患者行为研究的桑亚·乔杜里表示，这项研究“能够极大提高诊断速度，完善治疗措施。”

But some experts cautioned that the findings are preliminary and that ME research has been ‘bedevilled with false dawns’ for decades.

但也有一些专家警告，这项发现仅仅是初步阶段的成果，而且肌痛性脑脊髓炎的研究者们已经被这种“虚幻的希望”迷惑多年。

Vocabulary

debilitating：使人衰弱的

malingerer：装病者

elude：使迷惑

bedevilled：困扰，折磨