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American researchers have reported some success using radiation to treat patients experiencing irregular heartbeats.

美国研究人员报告说，使用辐射可治疗心律不齐的病人，并取得了一定的成功。

The highly experimental treatment has only been tried on a small number of patients. But doctors are preparing to carry out the first major study to test its effectiveness on large groups of people.

这种高度实验性的治疗方法只在少数病人身上试用过。但医生们正准备进行第一次大型研究，以测试其在大量人群中的有效性。

Scientists working on the treatment say early research suggests radiation may reprogram misfiring heart cells to control heartbeats like younger, healthier cells do.

研究这种疗法的科学家表示，早期研究表明，辐射可能会重新编程错误的心脏细胞，使其像年轻、健康的细胞那样控制心跳。

An irregular heartbeat, known medically as ventricular tachycardia, is a major cause of sudden heart attacks worldwide. In the United States, the condition is blamed for about 300,000 deaths each year.

心律不齐，医学上称为室性心动过速，是世界范围内突发心脏病的主要原因。在美国，这种疾病每年导致大约30万人死亡。

Treating the condition with radiation is extremely unusual. Even doctors treating cancer patients are trained to avoid targeting the heart. There is concern that the radiation could cause additional harm. But doctors studying the treatment say they have seen such good results they are looking forward to expanding their research.

用辐射治疗这种疾病是非常罕见的。即使是治疗癌症患者的医生也接受过避免以心脏为目标的训练。人们担心辐射可能会造成额外的伤害。但是研究这种疗法的医生说，他们已经看到了如此好的结果，他们期待着扩大他们的研究。

The scientific team says the treatment would be targeted at patients with life-threatening irregular heartbeats who have tried other methods without success.

该科学团队表示，这种治疗方法将针对那些曾尝试过其他方法但没有成功的危及生命的心律不齐患者。

The study will attempt to see whether a one-time radiation treatment can be a safe and effective way to treat irregular heartbeat patients who have not been helped by other methods.

这项研究将试图了解，一次性辐射治疗是否可以作为一种安全有效的方法，来治疗那些无药可医的心律不齐患者。

Dr. Stacey Rentschler is a developmental biologist who treats heart patients at the Washington University in St. Louis. She told The Associated Press the treatment "may actually rejuvenate sick tissue." Rentschler called that result "pretty exciting."

斯泰西·伦茨勒博士是圣路易斯华盛顿大学治疗心脏病患者的发育生物学家。她告诉美联社，这种治疗“实际上可能使患病组织恢复活力”。伦茨勒称这一结果“非常令人兴奋”。

One patient who agreed to receive the experimental treatment is Jeff Backus of Louisville, Kentucky. He was unable to solve his heart problems with other treatment methods.

肯塔基州路易斯维尔的杰夫·巴克斯是一位同意接受实验性治疗的患者。他已经没有其他治疗方法来解决心脏问题了。

Backus had already gone through a lengthy operation to keep his heart beating normally. Doctors put a piece of equipment, called a defibrillator, inside his body to assist his heart when needed. But Backus' poor health continued. He would sometimes pass out and awaken to severe chest pain. Backus said the defibrillator had to save him by shocking his heart back into normal beating.

为了保持心脏正常跳动，巴克斯已经做了长时间的手术。医生在他体内放置了一种叫做除颤器的设备，以便在需要时帮助他的心脏。但巴克斯的健康状况一直不佳。他有时会昏倒，醒来时胸口剧痛。巴克斯说，除颤器必须通过电击使他的心脏恢复正常跳动来拯救他。

You're always in the back of your mind thinking, 'Is it going to happen?' Backus told the AP. He decided to try the experimental radiation treatment in February. So far, he is doing well, and the method, he said, "gave me some hope."

“你总是在内心深处想，‘这会发生吗?’”巴克斯告诉美联社。他决定在2月份尝试实验性的辐射治疗。到目前为止，他做得很好，他说，这种方法“给了我一些希望”。

The heart's electrical system normally makes it beat at a rate anywhere from 60 to 100 times a minute. Ventricular tachycardia is a super-fast heartbeat that affects the organ's ability to pump blood. The condition can develop after damage from a past heart attack.

心脏的电系统通常使它以每分钟60到100次的速度跳动。室性心动过速是一种超快的心跳，会影响心脏泵血的能力。这种情况可能发生在过去心脏病发作造成的损伤之后。

The main treatment method involves doctors putting small catheters inside the heart to identify and burn misfiring tissue, which can block bad signals. Some patients, however, are too sick to receive the catheter treatment. And for others, like Backus, the problem often returns.

主要的治疗方法是医生在心脏内放置小导管，以识别和燃烧失燃组织，这可以阻止不良信号。然而，有些病人病情严重，无法接受导管治疗。而对于像巴克斯这样的其他人来说，这个问题经常会再次出现。

The idea for the radiation treatment came from Dr. Phillip Cuculich, a heart specialist at Washington University. Cuculich teamed up with Dr. Clifford Robinson, who specializes in exact targeting of cancer while avoiding nearby healthy tissue.

辐射治疗的想法来自华盛顿大学的心脏病专家菲利普·库库里奇博士。库库里奇与克利福德·罗宾逊博士合作，后者擅长精确定位癌症，同时避开附近的健康组织。

Robinson said he was never aiming for the heart during cancer treatments and instead always tried to miss the organ. But he agreed to try and warned patients about possible long-term risks. He said his first patient told him, "You're concerned about something that might happen 10 or 20 years from now? I'm worried about tomorrow." "That was really eye-opening," he added.

罗宾逊说，在癌症治疗期间，他从未瞄准过心脏，而是一直试图避开这个器官。但他同意尝试，并警告患者可能存在的长期风险。他说，他的第一位病人告诉他，“你担心10年或20年后可能发生的事情?我担心的是明天。”“真的是让人大开眼界。”他补充说。

Cuculich and Robinson reported their first successes in 2017 and 2019. Experiments with small numbers of severely sick patients showed major improvement. They say some patients are doing well up to six years later.

库库里奇和罗宾逊在2017年和2019年报告了他们的第一次成功。对少数重病患者进行的实验显示出重大改善。他们说，一些病人在6年后，仍然状态良好。

The treatment has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But Cuculich and Robinson have received permission to treat about 80 people on a case-by-case basis. The team has also taught the method to many hospitals in the U.S. and other countries that have agreed to try it.

这种疗法还没有得到美国食品和药物管理局的批准。但库库里奇和罗宾逊已经获得许可，可以根据个案情况治疗大约80人。该团队还将该方法传授给美国和其他国家的许多医院，这些医院同意尝试该方法。

I'm Bryan Lynn.

布莱恩·林恩报道。

American researchers have reported some success using radiation to treat patients experiencing irregular heartbeats.

The highly experimental treatment has only been tried on a small number of patients. But doctors are preparing to carry out the first major study to test its effectiveness on large groups of people.

Scientists working on the treatment say early research suggests radiation may reprogram misfiring heart cells to control heartbeats like younger, healthier cells do.

An irregular heartbeat, known medically as ventricular tachycardia, is a major cause of sudden heart attacks worldwide. In the United States, the condition is blamed for about 300,000 deaths each year.

Treating the condition with radiation is extremely unusual. Even doctors treating cancer patients are trained to avoid targeting the heart. There is concern that the radiation could cause additional harm. But doctors studying the treatment say they have seen such good results they are looking forward to expanding their research.

The scientific team says the treatment would be targeted at patients with life-threatening irregular heartbeats who have tried other methods without success.

The study will attempt to see whether a one-time radiation treatment can be a safe and effective way to treat irregular heartbeat patients who have not been helped by other methods.

Dr. Stacey Rentschler is a developmental biologist who treats heart patients at the Washington University in St. Louis. She told The Associated Press the treatment "may actually rejuvenate sick tissue." Rentschler called that result "pretty exciting."

One patient who agreed to receive the experimental treatment is Jeff Backus of Louisville, Kentucky. He was unable to solve his heart problems with other treatment methods.

Backus had already gone through a lengthy operation to keep his heart beating normally. Doctors put a piece of equipment, called a defibrillator, inside his body to assist his heart when needed. But Backus' poor health continued. He would sometimes pass out and awaken to severe chest pain. Backus said the defibrillator had to save him by shocking his heart back into normal beating.

"You're always in the back of your mind thinking, 'Is it going to happen?'" Backus told the AP. He decided to try the experimental radiation treatment in February. So far, he is doing well, and the method, he said, "gave me some hope."

The heart's electrical system normally makes it beat at a rate anywhere from 60 to 100 times a minute. Ventricular tachycardia is a super-fast heartbeat that affects the organ's ability to pump blood. The condition can develop after damage from a past heart attack.

The main treatment method involves doctors putting small catheters inside the heart to identify and burn misfiring tissue, which can block bad signals. Some patients, however, are too sick to receive the catheter treatment. And for others, like Backus, the problem often returns.

The idea for the radiation treatment came from Dr. Phillip Cuculich, a heart specialist at Washington University. Cuculich teamed up with Dr. Clifford Robinson, who specializes in exact targeting of cancer while avoiding nearby healthy tissue.

Robinson said he was never aiming for the heart during cancer treatments and instead always tried to miss the organ. But he agreed to try and warned patients about possible long-term risks. He said his first patient told him, "You're concerned about something that might happen 10 or 20 years from now? I'm worried about tomorrow." "That was really eye-opening," he added.

Cuculich and Robinson reported their first successes in 2017 and 2019. Experiments with small numbers of severely sick patients showed major improvement. They say some patients are doing well up to six years later.

The treatment has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But Cuculich and Robinson have received permission to treat about 80 people on a case-by-case basis. The team has also taught the method to many hospitals in the U.S. and other countries that have agreed to try it.

I'm Bryan Lynn.

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Words in This Story

rejuvenate - v. to make someone of something look or feel young and energetic again

exciting - v. making you feel very excited and enthusiastic

short-circuit - v. to cause a fault in an electrical connection

catheter - n. a long, very thin tube used to take liquids out of the body