A curable condition that causes blindness

一種可治愈的導(dǎo)致失明的疾病

來源視頻

An estimated ?million cases of blindness worldwide are caused by cataracts（白內(nèi)障）,

a curable condition affecting the lens that focuses images onto the eye's retina（視網(wǎng)膜）.

A cataract occurs when proteins ?in the lens lose their normal arrangement,

clumping together in a way that causes discoloration or clouding,

and eventually blocks most vision.

全世界有將近兩千萬失明病例是由白內(nèi)障引起

白內(nèi)障是可治愈的，與圖像聚焦到視網(wǎng)膜上的晶狀體相關(guān)的疾病

白內(nèi)障是因晶狀體中的蛋白質(zhì)失去正常構(gòu)造引起

晶體蛋白質(zhì)開始結(jié)塊，導(dǎo)致失色或渾濁

最終擋住大部分視線

Cataracts can be caused by eye injury,

certain medications,

ultraviolet（紫外的） radiation,

diabetes,

smoking,

or some genetic disorders.

But the most common cause is aging.

眼部受傷

個(gè)別藥物

紫外線輻射（infrared 紅外的）

糖尿病

吸煙

或一些基因失序都可以引起白內(nèi)障

最常見的病因是年老。

In the United States, more than 50% of people over the age of 80?develop them.

Cataracts were treated ?over 2,500?years ago in India,

though similar procedures ?may have existed even earlier

in Ancient Egypt and Babylon.

在美國(guó)，百分之五十80歲以上的人有白內(nèi)障

印度2500年前就開始治療白內(nèi)障

盡管類似的治療手法可能更早之前就存在于

古埃及和巴比倫

The most common procedure, called couching（針拔內(nèi)障術(shù)）,

involved pressing ?a sharp instrument into the eye

to loosen and push ?the clouded lens out of the way.

Although this could increase ?the amount of light entering the eye,

the lack of a lens would leave ?the patient's vision out of focus.

Despite its low success rate, and high risk of infection or injury,

couching is still performed ?in some parts of the world.

最常用的治療手法，繡法，（couch作名詞 還有沙發(fā)的意思）

是把一個(gè)尖的器具壓進(jìn)眼睛

使渾濁的晶狀體變松并將其推開

盡管這樣可以增加眼睛接收的光

晶狀體缺失會(huì)使患者視線失焦

盡管成功率低，感染率和受傷率高

世界的一些地方還在使用繡法

Later procedures would also focus on removing the cloudy lens,

for example, by making an opening in the cornea to pull out the lens

along with the membrane capsule ?surrounding it.

While the invention of eyeglasses allowed for some restoration of focus,

they had to be extremely thick to help.

Furthermore, such techniques still caused complications,

like damaging the retina,

or leaving the eye ?with uncomfortable stitches（縫線）.

這之后的治療手法也都針對(duì)渾濁晶狀體的移除

比如說，在眼角膜開口，將晶狀體和

包裹在周圍的表膜囊拉出

盡管眼鏡的發(fā)明可以恢復(fù)聚焦

他們要特別厚才能有用

而且，這些技術(shù)還會(huì)制造麻煩

比如損壞視網(wǎng)膜

或者讓眼睛上有令人不舒服的縫線（stitch? n.針腳；v.縫補(bǔ)）

But in the 20th century, ?something unexpected happened.

Eye surgeon Sir Harold Ridley was treating World War II casualties（傷亡人員）

when he noticed that acrylic（丙烯酸） plastic from a shattered（破碎的） aircraft cockpit（駕駛艙）

had become lodged in a pilot's eyes without triggering an adverse reaction.

This led him to propose surgically implanting artificial lenses into the eye

to replace cataracts.

And despite initial resistance,

the method became standard practice by the 1980s.

但在二十世紀(jì)，料想不到的事情發(fā)生了

眼科醫(yī)生 哈羅德 · 里德利 ?在治療二次世界大戰(zhàn)傷員時(shí)

發(fā)現(xiàn)飛機(jī)駕駛員座艙碎片的丙烯酸塑料

埋入了一個(gè)飛行員的眼睛卻沒有引發(fā)任何不良反應(yīng)

這讓他提出用手術(shù)在眼睛里植入人工晶體

來治療白內(nèi)障

盡管開始有些阻力

這個(gè)方法在1980年代成為了標(biāo)準(zhǔn)操作

Since Ridley's discovery,

the intraocular lens ?has undergone（經(jīng)歷） several improvements.

Modern lenses can fit ?into the membrane capsule

that the cataract is extracted from,

leaving more of ?the eye's natural anatomy intact.

And the ability to fine-tune ?the lens curvature

allows the surgery to restore ?a patient's normal vision

without the need for glasses.

從里德利的發(fā)現(xiàn)開始

眼內(nèi)鏡片已經(jīng)經(jīng)過了多次改良 （undergone 是 undergo 的過去分詞）

現(xiàn)代晶狀體鏡片可以放進(jìn)取出白內(nèi)障的

表膜膠囊

眼睛的大部分自身的結(jié)構(gòu)不會(huì)受損

能夠精細(xì)的調(diào)整鏡片的弧度

使手術(shù)能夠讓患者恢復(fù)正常視力

不再需要眼鏡

Of course, surgical techniques ?have also progressed.

Microscopic procedures use ?small instruments or lasers

to make precise incisions（切口） of one ?or two millimeters in the cornea,

while an ultrasound（超聲波） probe breaks up and removes the cataracted lens

with minimal trauma to the eye.

Low-tech versions of this operation have made the surgery quick and inexpensive,

helping it spread ?across the developing world.

Places like Aravind Eye Hospital in India

have pioneered high-volume, ?low-cost cataract surgery

for as little as six dollars.

當(dāng)然啦，手術(shù)技術(shù)也進(jìn)步了

微型手術(shù)使用小型器具或者激光

在超聲波探針打碎并移除白內(nèi)障化眼角膜時(shí)

在眼角膜上精準(zhǔn)地切出一個(gè)一兩微米的創(chuàng)口

這只會(huì)對(duì)眼睛造成微乎其微的創(chuàng)傷

低技術(shù)版的操作使得手術(shù)快且不貴

這個(gè)手術(shù)因此得以傳遍發(fā)展中的國(guó)家

印度的亞拉眼科醫(yī)院等地

提倡最少之用六美金的

高容量，低價(jià)格的白內(nèi)障手術(shù)

Why then, with all these advances,

are there still so many ?blind people in the world?

The main issue is access to health care,

with poor infrastructure ?and a shortage of doctors

being a major barrier in many regions.

那為什么，有了這些先進(jìn)技術(shù)

世界上還有那么多盲人？

主要的問題是因無法得到醫(yī)療

低劣的基礎(chǔ)建設(shè)和醫(yī)生的緊缺

成了許多地區(qū)最大的障礙

But this is not the only problem.

In many rural areas with poor education,

blindness is often accepted ?as an inevitable part of aging,

for which someone ?might not think to seek treatment.

This is why information is crucial.

Increased community awareness programs and the spread of mobile phones

mean that many of those

who might have remained blind for the rest of their lives due to cataracts

are now reachable.

And for them, ?a brighter future is in sight.

但這還不是唯一的問題

許多偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)缺乏教育

失明被認(rèn)為是變老不可避免的一部分

所以人們就不會(huì)想要去接受治療

這就是為什么信息是極為重要的

增長(zhǎng)的社區(qū)意識(shí)和移動(dòng)電話的普及

意味著那些原本

因?yàn)榘變?nèi)障可能從此一生都會(huì)失明的人

現(xiàn)在可觸及的范圍之內(nèi)

對(duì)他們來說，前方的道路一片光明