◎國際新聞中心

Stammering has long been recognised to run in families, but scientists now say they have identified three genes which may cause the problem in some people. They believe that mutations which have already been tied to metabolic disorders may also affect the way in which parts of the brain function.

結巴長期以來被認為是家族特徵，但科學家現在表示，他們已辨識出3種可能造成某些人有這種問題的基因，他們相信，已知與代謝疾病相關的基因突變，可能也影響大腦部分區塊運作的方式。

Stammering affects about 1% of all adults worldwide. Those affected repeat or prolong sounds, syllables or words, disrupting the normal flow of speech. With early intervention children who stammer can overcome the problem, while for adults therapies are based on reducing anxiety and regulating breathing to improve speech. But the team from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders（NIDCD）hopes its discovery may pave the way for new treatments.

結巴影響全球約1%的成年人口，有結巴的人會重複或延長聲音、音節或字詞，影響說話的正常表達。孩童若早期接受治療，可以克服這種問題，而成人的療法則是針對減少緊張、調節呼吸來改善說話等。但國立失聰和其他溝通障礙研究院的團隊，希望他們的研究或能為新療法鋪路。

Nearly one in ten of the sufferers examined were found to have a mutation in one of three genes.

接受檢驗的口吃患者之中，近10分之1這3種基因中有一個突變。

Two of these, GNPTAB and GNPTG, have already been linked to two serious metabolic diseases in which components of cells are not effectively recycled. People with this defective gene need two copies to develop the metabolic disorder, but one copy appears to be associated with stammering.

3種基因中，GNPTAB與GNPTG兩種，已知會造成細胞元件不能有效循環的兩種嚴重代謝疾病。有兩對這種缺陷基因的人會發展出代謝疾病，但如果只有一對，似乎就會造成口吃。

A third defective gene, which is closely related to the other two, was also found among stammerers but not among the controls.

而第三種有缺陷的基因，與另外兩種密切相關，也能在口吃患者身上發現，但是對照組身上就沒有。

新聞辭典

stammer：動詞，結巴。例句：He dialled 999 and stammered （out） his name and address.（他撥了999，結結巴巴地報上姓名與住址。）

run in the family：片語，家族特有的特徵。例句：Intelligence seems to run in that family.（那家人好像都很聰明。）

metabolic：形容詞，代謝的。例句：The athletes had taken pills to stimulate their metabolic rate.（運動員服用藥物刺激新陳代謝。）

自由時報-990325