喝咖啡不光具有提神醒腦的作用。一項研究通過長達多年的隨訪調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，喝咖啡的人比完全不喝咖啡的人患帕金森病的風(fēng)險更低。

We know that what we eat and drink has a significant impact on our health, and a new study has found another connection between drinking coffee and being less likely to develop Parkinson's disease.
我們知道，飲食習(xí)慣會顯著影響我們的健康。最近，又有一項新研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，喝咖啡可能會減少患帕金森病的風(fēng)險。

Looking at data collected on 184,024 individuals across an average of 13 years, the international team of researchers behind the study found that coffee consumers had a lower risk of getting Parkinson's than those that didn't drink coffee at all.
開展這項研究的國際研究團隊調(diào)查了184024名參與者平均長達13年的數(shù)據(jù)。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，喝咖啡的人比完全不喝咖啡的人患帕金森病的風(fēng)險更低。

Further analysis of a sample of hundreds of people with Parkinson's measured levels of the primary metabolites of caffeine, paraxanthine, and theophylline, in the blood – finding that they had an inverse association with the risk of developing Parkinson's.
對數(shù)百名帕金森患者血液樣本的進一步分析顯示，血液中咖啡因的初級代謝物——副黃嘌呤和茶堿的水平與患帕金森病的風(fēng)險呈反比。

"This study demonstrated an inverse association of caffeinated coffee consumption with the risk of Parkinson's disease in one of the largest longitudinal cohorts worldwide with more than 20 years of follow-up," write the researchers in their published paper.
研究者在發(fā)表的論文中寫道：“這項研究證明了含咖啡因的咖啡攝入與帕金森病風(fēng)險之間呈負相關(guān)，這是全球最大的縱向隊列研究之一，隨訪時間超過20年。”

This isn't the first study to find a link between coffee and Parkinson's, but it goes further than previous research in the way it looks at biomarkers of caffeine intake years ahead of Parkinson's disease being diagnosed.
該研究并非首次發(fā)現(xiàn)咖啡與帕金森病之間的聯(lián)系，但它在參與者被診斷帕金森病之前就開始觀察咖啡攝入的生物指標(biāo)，比以往的研究方法更勝一籌。

The top 25 percent of coffee drinkers were found to be 40 percent less likely to develop Parkinson's, compared to those who didn't drink coffee at all. Across all coffee consumers in the study, the risk reduction measured varied between approximately 5 to 63 percent, depending on the country.
研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，喝咖啡最多的25%的人比完全不喝咖啡的人患帕金森病的可能性低40%。在參與研究的所有喝咖啡的人當(dāng)中，風(fēng)險降低的比例大約在5%到63%之間，不同國家比例各不相同。

While the association still held when factors such as smoking and drinking were accounted for, it's still not enough to prove direct cause and effect. However, there does seem to be something about caffeine and its ingredients that is protecting people's brains.
即使考慮了吸煙和飲酒等因素，這種關(guān)聯(lián)仍然存在，但仍然不足以證明直接的因果關(guān)系。然而，咖啡因及其成分似乎確實在保護人們的大腦。

Based on previous research, it's thought that the way caffeine keeps dopamine flowing in the brain might be the reason for these effects. Parkinson's in the brain is characterized by a reduction in dopamine, due to a loss of nerve cells in what's called the substantia nigra.
基于先前的研究，人們認為咖啡因保持大腦中多巴胺流動的方式可能是這些效應(yīng)的原因。帕金森病的病理特征是，由于所謂的黑質(zhì)區(qū)域的神經(jīng)細胞喪失，導(dǎo)致多巴胺減少。

"These neuroprotective effects align with our findings, which revealed an inverse association between caffeine, paraxanthine, and theophylline and the incidence of Parkinson's disease," write the researchers.
研究人員寫道：“這些神經(jīng)保護效果與我們的發(fā)現(xiàn)一致，揭示了咖啡因、副黃嘌呤和茶堿與帕金森病發(fā)病率之間的反比關(guān)系。”

Considering the way that caffeine hits our neurons, it's perhaps not surprising that there appears to be a relationship with neurodegenerative diseases. However, as we're still not sure how exactly Parkinson's gets started in the brain, it's difficult to be sure.
考慮到咖啡因?qū)ξ覀兩窠?jīng)元的影響，咖啡因與神經(jīng)退行性疾病之間似乎存在關(guān)系或許并不令人驚訝。然而，由于我們?nèi)匀徊淮_定帕金森病在大腦中是如何開始的，因此很難確定其因果關(guān)系。

The important work of figuring out what triggers Parkinson's, what might affect our risk of getting the disease, and how it might be stopped, goes on. In the US alone, nearly a million people are living with the disease, which leads to worsening problems with tremors, normal movement, balance, and limb stiffness.
確定觸發(fā)帕金森病的因素、可能影響我們患病風(fēng)險的因素以及如何阻止它的發(fā)展，這一重要工作仍在繼續(xù)。僅在美國，就有近一百萬人患有這種疾病，它會導(dǎo)致身體顫抖、無法正常運動及平衡、肢體僵硬等問題持續(xù)惡化。

"Coffee is the most widely consumed psychoactive beverage in the world," write the researchers.
研究人員寫道：“咖啡是世界上最廣泛飲用的提神飲料。”

"Unraveling the biological action of caffeine on Parkinson's disease not only carries important public health implications but also enhances our understanding of Parkinson's disease etiology and fosters potential prevention strategies."
“揭開咖啡因?qū)ε两鹕〉纳飳W(xué)作用，不僅具有重要的公共衛(wèi)生意義，而且增強了我們對帕金森病病因的理解，并推動了潛在預(yù)防策略的制定。”

The research has been published in Neurology.
這項研究已發(fā)表在《神經(jīng)病學(xué)》雜志上。

英文來源：Science Alert
翻譯&編輯：丹妮
審校：董靜、齊磊