為何養貓會導致失明？
Why owning a cat could lead to blindness
Keeping a pet cat puts owners at greater risk of going blind, but a dog appears to protect eyesight, a new study suggests.
一項最新研究表明,養貓會增加主人失明的風險,但是養狗卻能保護主人的視力.
Scientists have discovered that dogs and cats carry antigens which can prompt different immune responses in humans.
科學家們發現狗和貓身上都攜帶能激起人體的不同免疫反應的抗原.
While the allergen which dogs carry reduces the chance of developing glaucoma – the second leading cause of blindness in theUK– owning a cat nearly doubles the risk of contracting the eye disease.
狗身上攜帶的過敏原會降低主人患青光眼的幾率,在英國,青光眼是導致人們失明的第二大誘因,而養貓讓主人感染這一眼疾的風險增加了一倍.
Many pet owners suffer mild allergic reactions to their pets but still choose to keep them. However the new study suggests that even a small immune response could lead to blindness.
許多寵物主人對他們的寵物都有輕微的過敏反應,但是卻堅持養寵物.然而最新研究表明,即使是個很小的免疫反應都有導致失明的危險.
The study by the University of California, Los Angeles, found that cat owners who reacted to their pet allergen had a 90 per cent increased risk of glaucoma compared with non-pet owners. But dog owners were 20 per cent less likely to develop the debilitation condition.
加州大學洛杉磯分校的這項研究發現,如果寵物貓的主人對他們的寵物過敏的話,其患青光眼的風險比沒養寵物的人高90%.但是,寵物狗的主人出現視力減弱的幾率卻很可能比一般人低20%.
Keeping a dog also has the added benefit that owners are outside more which has been proven to protect against short-sightedness.
養狗的主人需要經常在戶外活動,這同時也有助于保護主人的視力,不會近視.
"Not only is Fido man's best friend, he may also save your sight," said British laser eye surgeon Dr David Allamby.
英國激光眼科醫生大衛·阿蘭比博士說："寵物狗不僅是人類最好的朋友,還可以保護你的視力."
"Cats could cause our immune system to react in a way that predispose eyes to the development of glaucoma.
