Seizures Then and Now
以前与当今的癫痫病
If a person who lived 200 years ago was treated for a seizure today, they would be surprised by the treatment's novelty. That's because doctors in the 1800s were influenced more by primal medical beliefs than science.
如果一个生活在200年前的人今天接受癫痫治疗，他们会对这种新奇的治疗方法感到惊讶。这是因为19世纪的医生更多地受到原始医学信仰的影响，而不是科学。
Rather than thinking the brain caused seizures, people in the 1800s still thought they were the result of strange forces. They associated seizures with the work of evil spirits. Others felt that the seizures had a cosmic or lunar cause. They believed that the cycles of the moon and constellation could make someone have a seizure.
19世纪的人们并不认为是大脑引起了癫痫，他们仍然认为这是奇怪力量的结果。他们把癫痫等同于邪灵的工作。另一些人认为癫痫是由宇宙或月球引起的。他们认为月亮和星座的周期会使人发病。
During a session to treat a patient who had seizures, doctors would force the patient to invoke the grace of the Almighty. They thought if the patient did this, then the patient would rid themselves of the evil spirits causing the seizures.
在治疗癫痫病人的过程中，医生会强迫病人祈求上帝的恩典。他们认为如果病人这样做，那么病人就能摆脱引起癫痫发作的邪灵。
The advent of modern psychiatry occurred during the 1800s. At that time people who suffered from seizures were placed in psychiatric hospitals. They were treated like they were insane. However, none of the outmoded treatments worked.
现代精神病学出现于19世纪。那时，癫痫发作的人被送进精神病院，他们被当作疯子对待。然而，这些过时的治疗方法无一奏效。
It wasn't until the late 1850s that the causes of seizures were understood. We know today that these causes pertain to the brain.Misfired signals from the brain cause a jerking reflex in the body. These usually occur when someone is very tired.
直到19世纪50年代末，人们才了解癫痫发作的原因。如今我们都知道这些原因与大脑有关，来自大脑的错误信号会引起身体的抽搐反射。这通常发生在一个人很劳累的时候。
Once the causes of seizures were known, definitive treatments were developed. Today, treatments range from taking pills to having surgery. Treatment is personalized according to the type of seizure the patient has.
一旦了解了癫痫发作的原因，就能找到具体的的治疗方法。今天的治疗方法包括吃药和动手术两种，需根据病人发作的类型进行个性化治疗。
Even today, some people are unsure about seizures. Their most common mistake is thinking that a person having a seizure will swallow their tongue. They often shove some utensil in the person's mouth. However, this doesn't help. The utensil often blocks the airway and prevents the person from inhaling. Yet most of the public no longer fear people who have seizures. Instead, they can now help and comfort a person if they have a seizure.
即使在今天，有些人仍然对癫痫发作不确定。他们最常犯的错误是认为癫痫发作的人会吞下舌头，因此他们经常把一些器具塞进人的嘴里。然而，这并没有帮助。器具常常会阻塞气道，使人无法吸入。然而，大多数公众不再害怕癫痫患者。相反，他们发现癫痫病人之后还可以提供帮助和安慰。
单词表
airway n. 导气管
Almighty n. 全能的神
advent n. 到来
constellation n. 星座
definitive adj.最后的
equate v. 使相等
inhale v. 吸入
invoke 调用
lunar adj.月亮的
novelty n. 新奇
outmoded adj.过时的
personalize v. 使个性化
pertain v. 适合
primal adj.原始的
psychiatric adj.精神病学的
psychiatry n. 精神病学
reflex n. 反映物
seizure n. 没收
session n. 会议
utensil n. 用具
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