Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, have a new idea about Alzheimer's disease. They think two proteins in the brain fight each other.

加州大學河濱分校的科學家對阿茲海默症有了新想法。他們認為大腦中的兩種蛋白質在互相對抗。

For a long time, doctors looked at protein clumps outside the cells. But medicines to remove these clumps did not work. Now, scientists look inside the cells.

長期以來，醫生一直關注細胞外的蛋白質聚集物。但使用藥物清除這些聚集物並沒有效果。現在，科學家開始研究細胞內的情況。

Inside the cell, two proteins are called amyloid beta and tau. They both want to stick to small tubes. These tubes move food and materials in the brain. Amyloid beta pushes tau away from the tubes. This breaks the transport system.

在細胞內，有兩種蛋白質被稱為 β-類澱粉蛋白和 tau 蛋白。它們都想附著在小管上。這些小管負責在大腦中輸送營養和物質。β-類澱粉蛋白會將 tau 蛋白從小管上推開，導致運輸系統損壞。

As people get old, their cells do not clean themselves well. This means more amyloid beta stays in the cell. This makes the problem worse. Some medicines like lithium might help stop this.

隨著年齡增長，細胞的自我清理能力下降。這意味著有更多的 β-類澱粉蛋白留在細胞內，使問題更加嚴重。某些藥物（如鋰鹽）可能會幫助阻止這種情況。

Scientists now want to protect the tubes in the brain. They also want to help cells clean themselves better.

科學家現在希望保護大腦中的小管，並幫助細胞地更好地進行自我清理。