The Ache: In presbyopia, the eye's lens loses elasticity with age. The ability to focus on near objects deteriorates, resulting in the need for reading glasses.
病痛：老花眼的成因是，眼睛的晶状体随年龄增长而失去弹性，聚焦近处物体的能力减弱，因此需要佩戴老花镜。
The Claim: A 12-week, scientifically tested training program, newly available as an iPhone app, uses a technique called perceptual learning to reduce -- or even eliminate -- the need for reading glasses.
主张：一项为期12周、经过科学检验的训练项目最近以iPhone应用的形式面市，该项目使用一种名为“知觉学习”(perceptual learning)的技术来减少（甚至消除）佩戴老花镜的必要性。
The Verdict: A 30-person study published in February 2012 in the journal Scientific Reports found that after trying the program -- now on sale as an iPhone app called Glasses-Off -- participants on average could read letters 1.6 times smaller than they could previously. The program is much more likely to show improvement in adults 40 to 60 years old, scientists say.
定论：2012年2月份刊登在《科学报告》(Scientific Reports)上的一项覆盖30人的研究的论文指出，在试用该项目（目前作为一个名为“摘掉眼镜”(Glasses-Off)的iPhone应用销售）之后，参与者平均能够阅读比之前小1.6倍的字母。科学家们表示，该项目为40至60岁的成年人带来改善的可能性要比其他人群大得多。
The self-guided app, launched this week by GlassesOff Inc., starts with a vision test, followed by a personalized training program users employ three times a week for 12 to 15 minutes per session. In one test, users must decide whether an E is facing up, down, right or left. The test gets harder when the E becomes smaller or lower-contrast. At the end of the session, users receive a personalized assessment of how much the app is likely to help them in various tasks, such as reading an article.
该自助式应用由GlassesOff Inc.于近期推出，该公司在以色列和纽约设有办公室。该应用一开始是一项视力测试，之后是个性化训练项目，用户一周接受三次训练，每次12到15分钟。在一项测试中，用户要判断字母E是朝上、朝下、朝右还是朝左。随着字母E尺寸缩小或对比度降低，测试难度会加大。在训练的最后，用户会接受一项个性化评估，看看该应用能在多大程度上帮助他们改进在各项任务中的表现，比如阅读文章。
The training consists of identifying fuzzy, striped images called Gabor patches, which can be hard to see against a similarly colored backdrop.
该训练内容包括辨认名为“加博尔视标”(Gabor patch)的条纹状模糊图案，在颜色相近的背景下，这些图案辨认起来会有难度。
The app is free for two or three weeks after a user signs up. To continue using it after that costs $59 for four months. The company, which has offices in Israel and New York, is offering a temporary $10 promotional price. After the initial program, the company offers a personalized maintenance program of one or two sessions per week at extra cost.
该应用在用户注册两周或三周之内可免费使用。之后若想继续使用，费用为59美元，可使用四个月，目前促销价为10美元。最初的训练项目完成之后，该公司会提供一项个性化保持项目，每周安排一次或两次训练，须额外交费。
The app isn't a cure for presbyopia, but makes the brain 'better able to interpret' the poor information it gets from aging eyes, says Dennis M. Levi, dean of University of California Berkeley's School of Optometry and co-author of the study. Dr. Levi is a scientific adviser to GlassesOff and has been promised stock options as compensation.
加州大学伯克利分校(University of California Berkeley)眼科视光学学院(School of Optometry)主任、此项研究作者之一丹尼斯・M.利瓦伊(Dennis M. Levi)表示，该应用并不能治愈老花，但能使大脑“更好地诠释”通过老化的眼睛所获得的贫乏信息。利瓦伊博士是GlassesOff的科学顾问，该公司承诺授予他股票期权作为报酬。
Anyone can use the product, says GlassesOff Chief Executive Nimrod Madar. But people over 70 likely still will need reading glasses for extended reading and low-light tasks.
GlassesOff首席执行长尼姆罗德・马达尔(Nimrod Madar)表示，任何人都可以使用该产品。但70岁以上的人如果长时间阅读或在光线较暗的环境中做事情，可能还是需要佩戴老花镜。
Using the new app 'might help people to better recognize slightly blurry images, but it isn't going to change the elasticity of the lens,' says James Salz, a clinical professor of ophthalmology at the University of Southern California.
南加州大学(University of Southern California)眼科学临床教授詹姆斯・萨尔斯(James Salz)表示，使用这款新应用“或许能帮助人们更好地辨认略显模糊的图像，但不会改变晶状体的弹性”。
The idea of using perceptual learning for vision difficulties has scientific merit, says Peter J. Bex, a neuroscientist at Schepens Eye Research Institute in Boston, part of Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Using perceptual learning to improve vision has proved viable in several scientific studies, including in people with lazy eye. Still, more research is needed on the GlassesOff program -- particularly comparing the test group to a group that got an ersatz training exercise, scientists say.
波士顿舍彭斯眼科研究所(Schepens Eye Research Institute，属于马萨诸塞州眼科和耳科医院(Massachusetts Eye and Ear Institute))神经学家彼得・J.贝克斯(Peter J. Bex)称，通过知觉学习来缓解视觉困难这一做法是有科学道理的。通过知觉学习来改善视力的可行性已得到几项科学研究的证明，其中包括针对弱视者的研究。但科学家称，还需要对GlassesOff的项目展开更多研究――尤其是将受试组与接受替代训练的组别进行对照的研究。
Another issue, Dr. Bex says, is that the results of perceptual learning sometimes apply only very narrowly to the tasks practiced in training. The ability to read small print may improve, but it's unclear how much difference that makes for people in a wider range of daily tasks.
贝克斯博士表示，另一个问题是知觉学习的效果有时仅仅局限于在训练中练习过的任务。阅读小字的能力可能会有所提高，但目前还不清楚这项训练能在多大程度上提高人们完成更广泛日常任务的能力。
A study, presented in July at the Asia-Pacific Conference on Vision in China, found that the GlassesOff program improved performance on measures including contrast sensitivity -- suggesting the improvement will apply to a wide range of daily tasks, Mr. Madar says.
马达尔说，7月份在中国举行的亚太视觉会议(Asia-Pacific Conference on Vision)上宣读的一项研究成果显示，GlassesOff的项目改善了对比敏感度等指标――暗示该应用能改善人们完成广泛日常任务的能力。