A curable condition that causes blindness

一种可治愈的导致失明的疾病

来源视频

An estimated  million cases of blindness worldwide are caused by cataracts（白内障）,

a curable condition affecting the lens that focuses images onto the eye's retina（视网膜）.

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.

全世界有将近两千万失明病例是由白内障引起

白内障是可治愈的，与图像聚焦到视网膜上的晶状体相关的疾病

白内障是因晶状体中的蛋白质失去正常构造引起

晶体蛋白质开始结块，导致失色或浑浊

最终挡住大部分视线

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.

眼部受伤

个别药物

紫外线辐射（infrared 红外的）

糖尿病

吸烟

或一些基因失序都可以引起白内障

最常见的病因是年老。

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.

在美国，百分之五十80岁以上的人有白内障

印度2500年前就开始治疗白内障

尽管类似的治疗手法可能更早之前就存在于

古埃及和巴比伦

The most common procedure, called couching（针拔内障术）,

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.

最常用的治疗手法，绣法，（couch作名词 还有沙发的意思）

是把一个尖的器具压进眼睛

使浑浊的晶状体变松并将其推开

尽管这样可以增加眼睛接收的光

晶状体缺失会使患者视线失焦

尽管成功率低，感染率和受伤率高

世界的一些地方还在使用绣法

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（缝线）.

这之后的治疗手法也都针对浑浊晶状体的移除

比如说，在眼角膜开口，将晶状体和

包裹在周围的表膜囊拉出

尽管眼镜的发明可以恢复聚焦

他们要特别厚才能有用

而且，这些技术还会制造麻烦

比如损坏视网膜

或者让眼睛上有令人不舒服的缝线（stitch  n.针脚；v.缝补）

But in the 20th century,  something unexpected happened.

Eye surgeon Sir Harold Ridley was treating World War II casualties（伤亡人员）

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

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.

但在二十世纪，料想不到的事情发生了

眼科医生 哈罗德 · 里德利  在治疗二次世界大战伤员时

发现飞机驾驶员座舱碎片的丙烯酸塑料

埋入了一个飞行员的眼睛却没有引发任何不良反应

这让他提出用手术在眼睛里植入人工晶体

来治疗白内障

尽管开始有些阻力

这个方法在1980年代成为了标准操作

Since Ridley's discovery,

the intraocular lens  has undergone（经历） 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.

从里德利的发现开始

眼内镜片已经经过了多次改良 （undergone 是 undergo 的过去分词）

现代晶状体镜片可以放进取出白内障的

表膜胶囊

眼睛的大部分自身的结构不会受损

能够精细的调整镜片的弧度

使手术能够让患者恢复正常视力

不再需要眼镜

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（超声波） 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.

当然啦，手术技术也进步了

微型手术使用小型器具或者激光

在超声波探针打碎并移除白内障化眼角膜时

在眼角膜上精准地切出一个一两微米的创口

这只会对眼睛造成微乎其微的创伤

低技术版的操作使得手术快且不贵

这个手术因此得以传遍发展中的国家

印度的亚拉眼科医院等地

提倡最少之用六美金的

高容量，低价格的白内障手术

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.

那为什么，有了这些先进技术

世界上还有那么多盲人？

主要的问题是因无法得到医疗

低劣的基础建设和医生的紧缺

成了许多地区最大的障碍

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.

但这还不是唯一的问题

许多偏远地区缺乏教育

失明被认为是变老不可避免的一部分

所以人们就不会想要去接受治疗

这就是为什么信息是极为重要的

增长的社区意识和移动电话的普及

意味着那些原本

因为白内障可能从此一生都会失明的人

现在可触及的范围之内

对他们来说，前方的道路一片光明