美國批准20多年來首款'漸凍人症'藥物

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first new drug for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, in more than two decades.

美國食品藥品管理局批准了20多年來首款治療肌萎縮側索硬化症(ALS，俗稱“漸凍人症”)的新藥。

The FDA announced that Radicava has been approved for use in the US.

日前，美國食品藥品管理局宣佈這款名爲Radicava的藥物在美國獲批使用。

The only other drug specifically for the treatment of ALS is riluzole, which was approved for use in the US in 1995.

除此之外，唯一一款專門治療ALS的藥物是1995年在美獲批使用的利魯唑。

ALS is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease. It affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that make muscles work.

ALS是一種漸進性神經退行性疾病。ALS會影響大腦和脊髓中控制肌肉運動的神經細胞。

Those nerve cells lose their ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which leads to paralysis and death.

這些神經細胞會失去發起和控制肌肉運動的能力，導致患者癱瘓和死亡。

The disease gained new prominence in 2014, thanks to the Ice Bucket Challenge.

2014年，這種病因“冰桶挑戰”再次獲得關注。

Fueled by social media, the campaign prompted millions of people to post videos of themselves dumping cold water on their heads and drove $115 million in donations to the ALS Association in just eight weeks.

在社交媒體的推動下，“冰桶挑戰”活動吸引了數以百萬計的人上傳自己將冷水從頭澆下的視頻，僅8周就爲ALS協會帶來了1.15億美元的捐款。