別人家的孩子更聰明? 科學家發現智慧基因

One in five people carry a 'smart gene' variant linked to long lifespan, bigger forebrains and enhanced mental ability, researchers have found.
研究人員發現，每五個人中就有一個人攜帶“聰明基因”變體，攜帶這種基因的人更長壽，大腦的前額區域體積更大，心理能力也更強。

Scientists found people who carry the gene have larger volumes in a front part of the brain involved in planning and decision-making.
科學家們發現攜帶聰明基因的人，大腦中負責計劃和決策功能的區域體積比其他人大。

They say the find could have major implications for sufferers of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.
科學家稱該發現對治療阿茨海默症及其他形式的癡呆症患者意義重大。

It follows the previous discovery that middle-aged and older people who have a single copy of the gene variant performed better in a wide range of mental tests.
在此之前，曾有研究發現攜帶該基因變體副本的中老年人在一系列認知測驗中的表現比不攜帶的人更加出色。

'We've known for a long time that people lose cognitive abilities as they age, but now we're beginning to understand that factors like klotho can give people a boost and confer resilience in aging,' said senior author Dena Dubal of UCSF.
“我們早就知道，隨着年齡的增長人們的認知能力會逐漸減退，但是現在我們開始發現如klotho（克洛索）這樣的基因能夠幫助人們在衰老過程中保持彈性。”舊金山加利福尼亞大學的德納·杜巴爾教授說。

'Genetic variation in KLOTHO could help us predict brain health and find ways to protect people from the devastating diseases that happen to us as we grow old, like Alzheimer's and other dementias.'
“klotho基因變體能夠幫我們預測大腦健康狀況，爲保護人們在衰老過程中免遭如阿茨海默症或癡呆等疾病的威脅尋找方法。”

About one in five people carry a single copy of the variant, known as KL-VS, that boosts levels of the protein and is associated with longer lifespan and improved heart and kidney function.
大約每五個人中有一個人會攜帶這種叫做KL-VS的基因變體副本，它能提高蛋白質水平、使人更長壽、提升心臟和腎臟功能。

A small minority, 3% of the population, has two copies, which is linked to a shorter lifespan.
極少數人羣，大約佔總人口的3%，攜帶有兩個該基因副本，這會使人更短壽。

In the new study scientists scanned the brains of 422 men and women aged 53 and over who were also tested for the KLOTHO gene.
在一項最新研究中，科學家們掃描了422個年齡在53歲以上的、被檢測出攜帶klotho基因的男性和女性。

They found that participants with a single copy of the gene variant also had a larger brain region known as the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC), which is especially susceptible to shrinkage with age.
結果發現，只攜帶一個基因變體副本的受試者的右腦背外側前額葉皮層的區域面積較大，而這片區域最容易隨年齡增長髮生萎縮。

Loss of neurons in this area may be one reason why older people are sometimes easily distracted and find it difficult to multitask.
該片區域內的神經元數量減少可能是造成老年人容易分心、難以應付多項任務的原因之一。

The results appear in the journal Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology.
該項研究結果發表在《臨牀和轉化神經病學年鑑》上。

A previous study, funded by the U.S.-based National Institutes of Health, found the protein boosts brain skills such as thinking, learning and memory.
在之前一項由美國國立衛生研究院出資贊助的一項研究中發現KL-VS有助於提高思考、學習、記憶等大腦功能。

It is believed it could increase the strength of connections between nerve cells in the brain.
另外它還能夠增強大腦中神經元之間的聯繫。

'Our results suggest klotho may increase the brain's capacity to perform everyday intellectual tasks,' said coauthor Lennart Mucke, professor of neuroscience at the University of California San Francisco.
“我們的研究結果表明klotho可能會提高大腦完成日常智力任務的能力。”加利福尼亞舊金山大學的神經科學教授萊納特·馬奇說。

People who have one copy of a variant, or form, of the kloto gene, called KL-VS, tend to live longer and have lower chances of suffering a stroke whereas people who have two copies may live shorter lives and have a higher risk of stroke.
攜帶一個klotho基因變體副本即KL-VS的人傾向於較爲長壽，患中風的機率更低，而攜帶兩個該基因變體副本的人則可能更短壽，患中風的機率也更高。

In the study, researchers found that people who had one copy of the KL-VS variant performed better on a battery of cognitive tests than subjects who did not have it, regardless of age, sex or the presence of the apolipoprotein 4 gene, the main genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.
這項研究中，研究人員還發現，攜帶一個KL-VS基因變體副本的人在一系列認知測驗中比不攜帶該基因的人表現更爲出色，這與受試者的年齡、性別或者是否攜帶載脂蛋白4基因無關，載脂蛋白4基因是引發阿爾茨海默病的主要遺傳風險因素。