《中英對照讀新聞》Stem cell hope for liver disease 幹細胞是肝病希望之所寄

◎魏國金

Researchers have begun a pioneering trial using patients' own stem cells to treat their chronic liver disease.

研究人員已展開一項利用病人自身的幹細胞來治療其慢性肝病的創新試驗。

A team at London's Hammersmith Hospital is attempting to reverse cirrhosis of the liver by harnessing and enhancing the body's own repair mechanism. They are using adult stem cells extracted from patients' bone marrow to generate new tissue in damaged areas.

倫敦哈默史密斯醫院的一個小組嘗試以控制並提高身體自己的修補機制，來反轉肝的硬化。他們使用抽取自病人骨髓的成體幹細胞，使其在受損區域產生新組織。

A Japanese group is also testing adult stem cells as a treatment for liver fibrosis.

一個日本團體也正試驗成體幹細胞，以作為肝纖維化的療法。

Liver disease is dramatically on the increase in the UK - something doctors mostly blame on burgeoning lifestyles of excess. Deaths from alcoholic liver disease have doubled in the last 10 years, with figures for the condition in young people increasing eight-fold due to binge drinking.

在英國，肝病呈大幅攀升之勢，醫生大多將之歸咎於迅速擴展的漫無節制之生活方式。過去十年，酒精性肝病的死亡數已增加一倍，而年輕人因狂飲，該項數據攀升八倍。

新聞辭典

chronic：長期的、慢性的。A chronic disease：慢性病。acute則是急性的，比如，嚴重急性呼吸道症候群Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome （SARS）。

harness：原意為馬具，也可指職守，日常工作，die in harness即為殉職。做動詞用則是套上馬具，亦有控制、利用之意，harness a river即整治一條河流。

blame on：歸咎。Don't blame the failure on me.不要將失敗怪罪於我。Be to blame：應受譴責、應負責任。She should be to blame for this failure.她應為這次的失敗負責。

excess：名詞，過多、過剩、過度，run (go) to excess，太過火、走極端。

binge drinking：狂飲、豪飲，必醉方休。