Daily, moderate drinking could almost halve the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, according to new research.

根据最新医学研究发现，每天适量饮酒可能会使患阿尔茨海默氏(早老性痴呆)或其它类型痴呆症的危险减少一半。

The finding adds to a growing body of evidence for the health benefits of moderate drinking, which is already known to protect against heart disease and stroke

越来越多的发现证明适量饮酒有益健康，如人们已经了解的适量饮酒可以预防心脏病和中风，这项新的发现又为此说增添了证据。

The study, published this week in The Lancet medical journal, also found that it doesn't seem to matter what people drink - the effect is the same.

发表在本周医学杂志《柳叶刀》上的这项研究还发现，无论人们饮何种酒，其效果都是相同的。

Experts say moderation - between one and three drinks a day - is the key.

专家说，适量即每天饮1至3杯酒是关键。

The adverse effect of excess alcohol is beyond question. Besides destroying the liver, several studies have shown that excessive drinking can be toxic to the brain. Alcoholics can end up with a shrunken brain, which is linked to dementia. There is even a medical condition called alcoholic dementia

过量饮酒的不良作用是毫无疑问的。除了损伤肝脏，许多研究已证明，过量饮酒可使大脑中毒。饮酒过量者最终会导致大脑萎缩，造成痴呆。甚至医学上就专门有"酒精中毒性痴呆"一说。

Scientists at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, conducted a six-year study of 5,395 people aged 55 and over who did not have signs of dementia.

荷兰鹿特丹Erasmus大学的科学家对5395位55岁以上的人进行了6年的追踪研究，当时，他们没有患痴呆病的症状。

They were asked whether they ever drank alcohol. Those who said yes were quizzed on how often they drank and details on their consumption of specific drinks such as wine, beer, spirits and fortified wine such as sherry and port.

研究人员首先问他们是否喝过酒，对饮酒者再进一步追问他们是否经常喝酒，多少时间喝一次酒，喝什么酒，诸如葡萄酒、啤酒、烈酒，还是加度葡萄酒如雪利酒和波尔图酒。

The men mostly drank beer and liquor, while women preferred wine and fortified wine.

男人通常饮用啤酒和烈酒，而女士更喜爱饮果酒和加度葡萄酒。

The researchers also checked whether participants' drinking habits had changed over the preceding five years or whether they had engaged in binge drinking - more than six drinks in one day.

研究人员还检查了受试者在先前五年中饮酒习惯是否有所改变或他们是否曾经狂饮作乐，即每日饮酒超过6杯。

Everyone was categorized according to how much they drank. Four or more glasses of alcohol per day were considered heavy drinking.

依据受试者饮酒量分类。每天饮酒4杯以上的人被定为过度饮酒。

By the end of the study in 1999, 197 of the participants had developed Alzheimer's or another form of dementia. Those who fared best were people who drank between one and three drinks a day. They had a 42 percent lower risk of developing dementia than the nondrinkers.

到1999年这项研究结束时，受试者中有197人已患上阿尔茨海默氏综合症或另一种类型的痴呆症。从饮酒中获益的受试者是那些每天饮1至3杯酒的人。与不饮酒者相比，他们患痴呆的危险要低42%。

Those who weren't daily drinkers but had more than one drink per week had a 25 percent lower risk and those who drank less than a glass a week were 18 percent less likely than nondrinkers to develop dementia. Drinking heavily did not affect overall dementia.

就痴呆症的发病率而言，与不饮酒者相比，每周饮酒一杯以上而不是每天饮酒者,发病率要低25%，而每周饮酒不到一杯的受试者,发病率要低18%。过度饮酒对各种痴呆症没有预防作用。

Heavy drinkers, who numbered 165 - mostly men - were 1 1/2times more likely to get vascular dementia and slightly more likely than nondrinkers of ending up with Alzheimer's.

165位过度饮酒者中大多数为男性，他们患血管性痴呆病的可能性要高出1.5倍，而最终患阿尔茨海默氏病的可能性比不饮酒者稍高。

Researchers suggested the blood-thinning and cholesterol-lowering properties of ethanol in alcohol may ward off dementia, which is often caused by a blood vessel problem.

研究人员提出，酒中乙醇的血液稀释作用和降低胆固醇特性可能有预防痴呆的功效，因为痴呆通常是由血管问题造成的。

Another possibility, the study speculated, is that low levels of alcohol could stimulate the release acetylcholine, a brain chemical believed to facilitate learning and memory.

该研究推测的另一种可能是，低含量的酒精能刺激人体释放乙酰胆硷，这是人脑中一种能促进学习和记忆的化学物质。