It began as a simple thumb injury. Then, it spiralled into a dangerous syndrome where a man's gut essentially became a brewery fermenting its own endless alcohol supply - which is not as fun as it sounds.
一开始只是拇指受伤,后来迅速演变成一种危险的综合征,一个男人的肠道基本变成了啤酒厂,源源不断地自己酿酒,但其实没有听起来这么有趣。

In a recent case study, doctors recount the strange symptoms of auto-brewery syndrome (ABS): a rarely diagnosed medical condition where simply ingesting carbohydrates can be enough to make you wildly inebriated. Even worse, nobody believes you when you say you haven't been drinking.
在最近的一个案例研究中医生讲述了自动酿酒综合征(ABS)的奇怪症状,这是一例罕见的疾病,仅仅摄入碳水化合物就足以让你酩酊大醉。更糟糕的是,你说自己没喝酒还没人信。

At least, that was the case for the unfortunate 46-year-old patient in question, an otherwise healthy man who'd only ever been a light social drinker.
至少医生讨论的这个46岁的病人就不幸地遇到了这种情况。之前他很健康,只在社交场合少量饮酒。

图片来源:视觉中国

His troubles began in 2011, after he completed a course of antibiotics for a thumb injury. Within one week of finishing the meds, he reported experiencing uncharacteristic personality changes, including depression, 'brain fog', aggressive behaviour, and memory loss.
他的问题开始于2011年,他因拇指受伤而服用了一个疗程的抗生素。停药后的一周内,他说自己性格变得异常,出现了抑郁、“脑雾”、攻击性行为和记忆减退。

He was eventually referred to a psychiatrist and given antidepressants, but it was only when the man was pulled over by police one morning in an apparent case of drunk driving that the true nature of his illness started to reveal itself.
最后他去看了精神科医生,开了抗抑郁药。但直到一天早上他被警察拦下查酒驾,他的真实病情才被发现。

When pulled over, he refused to take a breathalyser test and was hospitalised, with tests showing he had a blood alcohol level of 200 mg/dL, equivalent to having drunk approximately 10 alcoholic drinks, and sufficient to induce confusion, disorientation, impaired balance, and slurred speech.
他被拦下时拒绝进行酒精测试,被送入院治疗,检查结果显示他血液中酒精含量为200 mg/dL,相当于喝了大约10杯酒,足以引起混乱、定向障碍、平衡障碍和言语混乱。

"The hospital personnel and police refused to believe him when he repeatedly denied alcohol ingestion," researchers from Richmond University Medical Centre note in their case report.
里士满大学医学中心的研究人员在病例报告中写道:“他一再否认喝过酒,但医院的人和警察都不相信他”。

After being discharged from hospital, he sought treatment at a clinic in Ohio. In medical tests, most of his readings looked normal, but his stool sample showed the presence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (also known as brewer's yeast) and a related fungus.
出院以后他在俄亥俄州的一家诊所进行治疗。在医学测试中,他的大部分读数看起来正常,但他的粪便样本显示有酿酒酵母(也称为啤酒酵母)和一种相关的真菌。

S. cerevisiae has a long history in beer brewing and winemaking (in addition to baking), as it helps ferment carbohydrates and produces alcohol.
酿酒酵母一直用于酿造啤酒和葡萄酒(除了烘烤之外),它有助于发酵碳水化合物并产生酒精。

While the patient was successfully treated at the clinic, his ABS diagnosis revealed itself in subsequent flare-ups, with the most serious incident involving a fall while inebriated that resulted in intracranial bleeding.
虽然该病人在诊所治疗地很好,但后来复发时才被诊断出自动酿酒综合征,最严重的一次是因醉酒摔倒导致颅内出血。

 

翻译:菲菲