Tiny Needles Treat Eye Disease.docVIP

Tiny Needles Treat Eye Disease 细针治疗眼部疾病 Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness around the world. In the United States alone, more than two million people suffer from the disease. 青光眼是世界导致失明的第二大原因。仅仅在美国，就有200多万人受这个疾病折磨。 Glaucoma results from an over-production of fluid in the eye. The buildup of fluid causes uncomfortable pressure in the eye socket, which can lead to blindness. 青光眼是因为眼中的房水（房水为无色透明的液体，属于组织液的一种，充满前后房，约有0.15～0.3ml，它含有营养，可维持眼内压力。）分泌过多，房水的积累会给眼窝造成压力，使其不舒服，而且还会导致失明。 Glaucoma can be controlled with eye drops that either reduce the fluid, increase the flow of tears from the eye or both. But studies show only 56 percent of patients use the drops every day. If doctors need to inject medicine into the eye for other conditions, they generally use a hypodermic needle. But that can cause a painful or uneasy feeling in some patients. 青光眼可以通过滴眼液减少房水，使眼泪增多。但是研究发现只有56%的病人每天使用滴眼液。如果因为其它情况，医生需要往眼中注射药物的话，他们通常会使用皮下注射针。但是注射的话会有点疼或者给一些病人带来不舒服的感觉。 Now, researchers are developing very small needles that may offer a more effective and painless treatment for glaucoma and other eye diseases. The needles are only about point-four to point-seven millimeters long. These instruments, called microneedles, can put medication into the front of the eye, exactly where it is needed. Its developers say injections of time-release drugs every three to six months could replace daily glaucoma eye drops. 现在，研究者正在研发一种微型针，这种针可以更有效地治疗病人的青光眼和其它一些眼部疾病。这种针只有0.4——0.7毫米长。这些治疗工具叫做微型针，可以把药物注射到眼里真正需要的地方。研发者称每3-6个月注射这种随时间发挥药效的药可以取代每天往眼里滴药水。 Mark Prausnitz is director of the Center for Drug Design, Development and Delivery at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He helped develop the microneedles in a joint project with researchers at Emory University. He says the tiny needles are a better way to deliver medicine than an eye dropper. 马克·普劳斯尼茨是乔治亚科技研究所药物设计、研发、输送中心的主任。他与艾莫利大学的研究员一起参与微型针研发项目。他说微型针比要药水能够更有效的往眼中输送药物。 “What the microneedle enables is a very targeted delivery, to put the drug just in th