Weight loss can sometimes seem impossible because even after hard-won success, the pounds can creep back.

減肥有時似乎是不可能的任務，因為即使好不容易瘦身成功，也可能出現反彈。

“Ninety-five percent of people who embark on a diet on their own will fail or gain their weight back at the six- or 12-month mark,” Dr. David Prologo, an interventional radiologist at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, said in a news release video. “The reason for this is the body’s backlash to the calorie restriction."

亞特蘭大州埃默里大學醫學院介入放射學專家大衛?普羅洛戈在一段資訊視頻中稱：“95%依靠節食自己減肥的人都失敗了，或在6到12個月時出現反彈。這是因為人體對限制卡路里攝入出現了強烈反應。”

Prologo recently conducted a trial that looked deeper into the issue, targeting the "hunger nerve" and its possible connection to one's ability to lose weight and keep it off.

普羅洛戈最近進行了一次試驗，深入研究這個問題，把研究對象對準“饑餓神經”及其與人體減肥和維持體重的能力之間可能存在的關聯。

The “hunger nerve” -- also known as the posterior vagal trunk -- is a branch of the larger vagus nerve that works on the heart, lungs and GI system. When your stomach is empty, the nerve signals your brain that you're hungry.

“饑餓神經”，又稱迷走神經后干，是大迷走神經的一個分支，影響心臟、肺和胃腸系統。當你的肚子里沒有東西時，“饑餓神經”會告訴大腦你餓了。

那么我們可以通過冷凍“饑餓神經”，降低信號傳遞強度，從而幫助肥胖癥患者減肥嗎？

普羅洛戈和他的團隊進行了一次小型試驗，他們將探針刺入實驗對象的背部，在CT技術的引導下，用氬氣冷凍“饑餓神經”。

By freezing the nerve, the hunger signal was shut down.

通過冷凍神經，饑餓信號被關閉。

The experiment was meant solely to test the safety of the procedure, and the team ran the study on only 10 people. All were overweight, between the ages of 27 to 66 and had body mass indexes (BMIs) ranging from 30 and 37 (those stretch from "moderately" to "severely" obese). Eight of the 10 participants were women.

這個實驗僅僅是為了檢驗這項手術的安全性，研究對象只有10人，其中8人是女性。他們的年齡在27歲到66歲之間，身體質量指數在30到37之間（從“輕微”肥胖到“嚴重”肥胖），所有人都超重。

注：身體質量指數是衡量人體胖瘦程度的一個常用指標，其計算方法是體重（千克）除以身高（米）的平方，通常認為數值30及以上為肥胖。

At the end of the procedure, the probe was removed and a small bandage was applied to the skin, with patients going home the same day.

手術結束時，探針會被取出，在皮膚上貼一條小繃帶，患者當天就可以回家。

The researchers saw the patients again seven, 45 and 90 days after the procedure. Because it was a phase 1 trial, primarily looking for negative side effects, the technical success rate was 100 percent, there were no procedure-related complications and no adverse events on which to follow up.

研究人員在手術后7天、45天和90天再次觀察患者。由于這是一個初步試驗，主要是為了研究冷凍神經的副作用，技術成功率為100%，沒有出現與手術相關的并發癥，也沒有后續的不良反應。

Though they weren't really looking at weight effects at this stage, patients said they had a decreased appetite at each clinic appointment, and there was an average weight loss of 3.6 percent. Additionally, all of the participants' BMI numbers came down about 13.9 percent. There was no mention of how long any effects on the nerve might last.

雖然研究人員在這一階段并沒有真正研究冷凍神經對體重的影響，但每次診療時，患者都表示食欲有所下降，而他們的平均體重減輕了3.6%。此外，所有參與者的身體質量指數下降了約13.9%。研究并沒有提及“冷凍神經”的影響可能持續多久。

It is far from proven that freezing the nerve will result in permanent weight loss but if it does, it could have a profound effect on the lives of those who have struggled to maintain a healthy weight.

該研究還遠遠沒有證明，凍結神經能永久性減輕體重，但如果真是這樣，它可能對那些艱難維持健康體重的人產生深遠影響。

Weight loss can sometimes seem impossible because even after hard-won success, the pounds can creep back.

減肥有時似乎是不可能的任務，因為即使好不容易瘦身成功，也可能出現反彈。

“Ninety-five percent of people who embark on a diet on their own will fail or gain their weight back at the six- or 12-month mark,” Dr. David Prologo, an interventional radiologist at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, said in a news release video. “The reason for this is the body’s backlash to the calorie restriction."

亞特蘭大州埃默里大學醫學院介入放射學專家大衛?普羅洛戈在一段資訊視頻中稱：“95%依靠節食自己減肥的人都失敗了，或在6到12個月時出現反彈。這是因為人體對限制卡路里攝入出現了強烈反應。”

Prologo recently conducted a trial that looked deeper into the issue, targeting the "hunger nerve" and its possible connection to one's ability to lose weight and keep it off.

普羅洛戈最近進行了一次試驗，深入研究這個問題，把研究對象對準“饑餓神經”及其與人體減肥和維持體重的能力之間可能存在的關聯。

The “hunger nerve” -- also known as the posterior vagal trunk -- is a branch of the larger vagus nerve that works on the heart, lungs and GI system. When your stomach is empty, the nerve signals your brain that you're hungry.

“饑餓神經”，又稱迷走神經后干，是大迷走神經的一個分支，影響心臟、肺和胃腸系統。當你的肚子里沒有東西時，“饑餓神經”會告訴大腦你餓了。

那么我們可以通過冷凍“饑餓神經”，降低信號傳遞強度，從而幫助肥胖癥患者減肥嗎？

普羅洛戈和他的團隊進行了一次小型試驗，他們將探針刺入實驗對象的背部，在CT技術的引導下，用氬氣冷凍“饑餓神經”。

By freezing the nerve, the hunger signal was shut down.

通過冷凍神經，饑餓信號被關閉。

The experiment was meant solely to test the safety of the procedure, and the team ran the study on only 10 people. All were overweight, between the ages of 27 to 66 and had body mass indexes (BMIs) ranging from 30 and 37 (those stretch from "moderately" to "severely" obese). Eight of the 10 participants were women.

這個實驗僅僅是為了檢驗這項手術的安全性，研究對象只有10人，其中8人是女性。他們的年齡在27歲到66歲之間，身體質量指數在30到37之間（從“輕微”肥胖到“嚴重”肥胖），所有人都超重。

注：身體質量指數是衡量人體胖瘦程度的一個常用指標，其計算方法是體重（千克）除以身高（米）的平方，通常認為數值30及以上為肥胖。

At the end of the procedure, the probe was removed and a small bandage was applied to the skin, with patients going home the same day.

手術結束時，探針會被取出，在皮膚上貼一條小繃帶，患者當天就可以回家。

The researchers saw the patients again seven, 45 and 90 days after the procedure. Because it was a phase 1 trial, primarily looking for negative side effects, the technical success rate was 100 percent, there were no procedure-related complications and no adverse events on which to follow up.

研究人員在手術后7天、45天和90天再次觀察患者。由于這是一個初步試驗，主要是為了研究冷凍神經的副作用，技術成功率為100%，沒有出現與手術相關的并發癥，也沒有后續的不良反應。

Though they weren't really looking at weight effects at this stage, patients said they had a decreased appetite at each clinic appointment, and there was an average weight loss of 3.6 percent. Additionally, all of the participants' BMI numbers came down about 13.9 percent. There was no mention of how long any effects on the nerve might last.

雖然研究人員在這一階段并沒有真正研究冷凍神經對體重的影響，但每次診療時，患者都表示食欲有所下降，而他們的平均體重減輕了3.6%。此外，所有參與者的身體質量指數下降了約13.9%。研究并沒有提及“冷凍神經”的影響可能持續多久。

It is far from proven that freezing the nerve will result in permanent weight loss but if it does, it could have a profound effect on the lives of those who have struggled to maintain a healthy weight.

該研究還遠遠沒有證明，凍結神經能永久性減輕體重，但如果真是這樣，它可能對那些艱難維持健康體重的人產生深遠影響。