你的臉上愛長痘？馬上要有新的療法了

2019.01.19

週六 Saturday

prone /prəun/ 

adj. 易受影響的

Now we finally have new hope, in the shape of the first-ever genetic study on acne. The researchers uncovered more gene markers for this condition than ever before, opening the door for potential new treatments.

現在，由於一項關於痘痘的新研究，我們終於看到希望了。研究者們現在發現了更多有關這個問題的基因點位，因此有可能研發出新的治療方式。

It turns out that the genetics of hair follicles in particular could be leading to breakouts in some.

他們發現，對於一些人來講，可能是有關毛孔的基因在引發痘痘問題。

The genome-wide association study yielded a real bounty - the researchers pinpointed 15 regions of the genome that were linked to severe acne, 12 of which had never been implicated before.

這項覆蓋人類全基因組的研究收穫頗豐，研究人員確定了15個與嚴重痘痘問題有關的基因位點，其中有12個是以前從未發現的。

And, strangely enough, many of these regions were also associated with the human hair follicle.

而且，神奇的是，這些區域中的很多都和人類的毛孔有關。

"It was surprising that so many of the variants appear to influence the structure and function of the hair follicle," says the study's senior author Michael Simpson, a researcher in genomic information at King's College London.

研究的高級作者，倫敦國王大學的遺傳信息研究員Michael Simpson說：“令人吃驚的是，這些基因型當中的很多似乎都會影響毛孔的形狀和功能，”

"It may be that the genetic variation influences the shape of these hair follicles and makes them more prone to bacteria and inflammation, which are a characteristic of acne."

“可能是這些基因變體影響了毛孔的形狀，讓它們更容易滋生細菌、更容易發炎，這些都是致痘原因。”

In other words, the authors think that there may be some follicle shapes out there that trap bacteria and oils more easily, causing breakouts to occur more often and with greater severity.

換句話說，研究的作者們認爲有些毛孔形狀可能更容易貯存細菌與油脂，進而讓長痘變得更頻繁、更嚴重。

"A number of the genetic variants point to interesting mechanisms that could be really good targets for new drugs or treatments that would really help patients," adds Simpson.

Simpson還補充到：“這些基因變體中的一些顯露出了很有趣的機制，我們可以把它們作爲目標來研究新的藥物和療法，從而爲病人們提供切實有效的幫助”

Today, one of the best treatments available for severe acne is isotretinoin (often known under the brand name Accutane), which works by reducing the amount of oil our skin produces.

如今，治療嚴重痘症的最有效療法是異維甲酸（通常直接用品牌名Accutane指代），它的作用機制是減少我們皮膚分泌的油脂。

But while this drug can be helpful to some, it doesn't work on every type of acne, and can come with some gnarly side effects, such as fatigue, dizziness, dry and scaly skin, joint pain, and even birth defects.

但是，雖然這個療法對一部分人來講有效，但並不是對所有類型的痘痘都奏效，而且還可能帶來一些副作用，比如疼痛、暈眩、皮膚乾燥龜裂、關節痛甚至新生兒缺陷。

今日詞彙

prone /prəun/ 

adj. 易受影響的

這個詞表示“有……的傾向”、“易受……的影響”，與to 連用。

She is still prone to camera nerves.

她在鏡頭前依然很容易緊張。

Working without a break makes you more prone to error.

連續不斷地工作讓你更容易犯錯。

另外它也表示“俯臥的”這個動作。

The victim lay prone without moving.

受害人趴在地上一動不動。