Big head may protect against dementia 頭大或許能對抗失智

 ◎國際新聞中心
Having a big head may help protect against the worst ravages of dementia, say researchers. They found that people with Alzheimer’s with the largest craniums had better memory and thinking skills than patients with smaller skulls.
研究人員說，頭大可能有助對抗失智症的摧殘，他們發現，罹患阿茲海默症而頭骨較大者，記憶力與思考能力比頭骨較小的病患佳。
The Munich University team believe a larger head means there are greater brain reserves to buffer against dementia-related brain cell death. Their findings, based on 270 patients, are published in the journal Neurology.
慕尼黑大學團隊認為，頭比較大意味大腦容量較多，能為對抗失智症相關腦細胞的死亡提供緩衝。他們根據270名病患所得的研究報告，刊登於「神經學」期刊。
The patients were recruited through research registries or specialist memory clinics in the US, Canada, Germany and Greece. They were given memory and cognitive skill tests and a brain scan to gauge the extent of their disease. They also had their head size measured.
病患是從美國、加拿大、德國與希臘的病歷研究或記憶力專門診所募集而來，他們接受記憶力與認知能力測試及大腦掃描以評估罹病程度，同時也被測量大腦大小。
A larger head was linked to better performance in the tests, even when patients had the same amount of Alzheimer’s-related brain cell loss. Although brain size is largely determined by genetics, the researchers say lifestyle can have an impact. Poor nutrition or disease in early life can compromise growth, for example.
在病患們的大腦中，即使是與阿茲海默症相關的腦細胞耗損量都一樣時，頭大的人測試表現仍然較好。雖然腦部大小大致上是基因決定，研究人員說，生活方式也有影響，比方說，營養不良或年紀輕就生病，就可能影響成長。
新聞辭典
ravage：動詞／名詞，破壞，蹂躪。例句：The area has been ravaged by war.（這個地區飽受戰爭蹂躪。）
cranium：名詞，頭蓋骨。
compromise：動詞，妥協，連累。例句：Don’t compromise your beliefs for the sake of being accepted.（不要為了被接受妥協你的信仰。）