患有嚴重癲癇的英國男孩奧蘭接受瞭世界首例用於控制癲癇發作的顱內設備的植入手術。通過向大腦深處發送電訊號，這個神經刺激器讓奧蘭在白天的癲癇發作頻率降低瞭80%。
Deep brain stimulation has been tried before to treat childhood epilepsy, but the device is usually placed in the chest with electrodes running up the neck. The hope is by putting a rechargeable neurostimulator in a patient’s skull, it will reduce complications such as the leads breaking or eroding.
雖然此前嘗試過用腦深部刺激來治療兒童癲癇，但這類設備通常被置於胸腔內，用於刺激腦部的電極需要穿過頸部進入顱內。醫生們現在希望通過將一個可充電的神經刺激器放置到患者的顱內，減少導線斷裂或腐蝕等不良情況的出現。
Martin Tisdall, the surgeon who led the team at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, says the device might help a small subset of the 25,000 children in the UK who have epilepsy which is not controlled by medication. Oran also has autism and ADHD, but it’s his epilepsy which has been by far the biggest issue in his development. Eight months since surgery, his mum Justine says he’s making good progress.
據在倫敦大奧蒙德街醫院率領這個研究團隊的外科醫生馬丁·提斯達爾說，這個設備可能會幫助2.5萬名英國癲癇患兒中的一小部分，這部分患兒不能通過藥物控制癲癇發作。雖然奧蘭也患有自閉癥和多動癥，但癲癇才是他成長發育中一直以來最大的問題。手術進行後八個月，他的母親賈斯婷說他目前康復進展良好。
Oran is a case study of one. It will take more patients and several years of monitoring before doctors know if they have an effective new treatment for severe epilepsy.
奧蘭是一個單人的案例研究。醫生們還需要更多的病例和數年的監測才能知道他們是否為重度癲癇找到瞭一個有效的新療法。
詞匯表
stimulation 刺激
electrodes 電極
neurostimulator 神經刺激器
complication 使更復雜化、困難化的事物
leads 導線
subset 子集，分組
controlled 得到控制的
autism 自閉癥，孤獨癥
ADHD 註意缺陷障礙，多動癥
case study 案例研究，個案研究
monitoring 監測
閱讀理解：請在讀完上文後，回答下列問題。
1. What is new about this treatment?
2. Why is this better than previous treatments?
3. True or False? This device might help 25,000 children in the UK.
4. What conditions, other than epilepsy, does Oran have?
答案
1. What is new about this treatment?
Previous neurostimulators were placed in patients’ chests. This one is placed in the patient’s skull.
2. Why is this better than previous treatments?
Because there are fewer complications, such as leads breaking or eroding.
3. True or False? This device might help 25,000 children in the UK.
False. This device might help a subset of the 25,000 children in the UK whose epilepsy is not controlled by medication.
4. What conditions, other than epilepsy, does Oran have?
Oran also has ADHD and autism.
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