I was born an albino (白化病人) in Pennsylvania in 1945. No one in my family had ever known what an albino was and what it meant to be an albino.

My family and friends treated me like everybody else. That was just about the best thing they could have done. It helped me trust myself, so when troubles came along, I could deal with them.

Like most albinos, I had terrible eyesight, but the fact that I could hardly see didn’t bother me that much.

Kids would tease me, calling me “Whitey”. People stared at me when I held reading material right at the tip of my nose so that I could see it well enough. Even when I was eight, movie-theater clerks started asking me to pay full price because I “looked older”.

The worst part for me was that because my eyesight was so bad, I couldn’t play sports very well. I didn’t give up trying, though. I shot hoops (投篮) every day. And I studied harder.

Eventually, I got better at school and loved it. By the time I got to college, I was double majoring, going to summer school and busying myself with every activity I could find. I had learned to be proud of being an albino. I did my best to make “albino” a positive word. And I decided to make my living with my eyes — and in sports.

I couldn’t see very well to play sports, but with a solid education and a drive to do it, I could make a living involved in the area I loved. I’ve done it now for over thirty years in print and in video, and now in cyberspace. People make jokes about how I’m the only “blind editor” they know, but the jokes are affectionate, some of them signs of respect.

I was just a proud albino kid from the coal country of Pennsylvania. I now realize that being born an albino helped me to overcome difficulties, gain confidence and be proud of my personal achievement.

Most of you will have noticed hosting a dinner party is harder than before. One friend needs dairy-free food, one can’t eat onion and two are vegetarian. Are food intolerances increasing? Or do we just hear more about them now?

Food intolerances are reactions to eating foods, in normal quantities, which do not involve the immune system. They are very different from food allergies (过敏) which happen when the body mounts an immune response to a food that is either eaten or even touches the skin. This immune response is very quick (within 20 minutes to two hours) and releases chemicals that can affect the person’s breathing and heart. The reasons behind food intolerances can vary greatly. A common one is people lack enzymes (酶) needed for breaking down nutrients.

While it may seem as if food intolerances are increasing, we lack the data and actual numbers, perhaps because food intolerances generally do not lead to taking medications or seeking urgent (紧急的) medical treatment. A 2009 report suggests about 20% of the population has one or more food intolerances, with no change since 1994. A more recent survey from 2020 of self-reported intolerances in internet users indicated about 25% of the population.

The increase may result from many factors. Some people may self-diagnose (自我诊断) a food intolerance from well-intended but misleading health advice from family and friends. Additionally, people may incorrectly owe medical symptoms (症状) to foods they have eaten. We also have an increased ability to self-diagnose, thanks to Dr Google. Today, when attending social events with food, we can provide our dietary requirements. This also contributes to normalising food intolerances, compared to even a decade ago. Previously people would have suffered in silence or simply avoided consuming their problematic foods at events. Another factor could be more and more people of different nations living in one area, some of whom are genetically more likely to have a food intolerance.

If you suspect you have a food intolerance, you’d better see a doctor to ensure you are not ignoring a potentially concerning medical problem. Also, this can make sure you are not needlessly missing out on essential nutrients required for good health.

It is easy to be doubtful about announcements of drugs that claim to slow the progress of Alzheimers, the most common form of dementia (痴呆). A new drug called Lecanemab, however, may be the real deal. Results of a clinical trial, conducted by its makers, Eisai, of Tokyo, and Biogen, of Cambridge Massachusetts, have just been announced in the New England Journal of Medicine(November; 2022). After18 months, it had slowed the progress of symptoms by a quarter.

The trial involved 1795 participants who were in the early stages of the illness. Half received the drug. The others, a placebo(安慰剂). It showed two things. One was the modest but measurable slowing of progression. The other was that an explanation of Alzheimers called the Amyloid Hypothesis(淀粉样蛋白假说) seems correct.

Amyloid is a protein which accumulates in parts of the brains of those with Alzheimers, which is an established sign of the illness. Lecanemab, containing a special antibody, is found to be able to attach itself to amyloid and then attracts immune-system cells to clear the protein away (and measurably did so in those receiving the drug).That suggests amyloid does indeed directly create problems associated with dementia and that Lecanemab can slow down the development of the disease.

This is a small first step. Some experts question whether the test used to show an improvement in symptoms is clinically meaningful because amyloid can be detected only with the help of a piece of expensive equipment, which is not something that can easily be turned into a routine program. Moreover, Lecanemab also caused swelling and bleeding of the brain in a number of participants. Now that the new drug has been shown to work, it can be followed up with further tests. Hope for more good news soon.