SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - Headaches

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS -June 25, 2002: Headaches

By Jerilyn Watson

VOICE 1:
This is Sarah Long.
VOICE 2:
And this is bob doughty¹, with science in the news, a VOA Special English program about recent developments in

science. Today we discuss treatments for three different kinds of a common disorder².
(Theme)
VOICE 1:
Recently, three people working for the same organization began suffering from severe pain in their heads on the

same day. Such pain is known as a headache. In each of the three people, the cause of the headache was different.

One person had a migraine headache, another had a cluster³ headache. The third
worker had a tension⁴ headache. Several years ago, these three people might have
suffered severe pain for some time before their headaches ended. On this day,
however, each one used a different treatment that either reduced the pain or ended it.

VOICE 2:

People who get migraine headaches get them repeatedly⁵ --month after month, year
after year. Some of them say they have difficulty seeing before the severe pain
begins. Others cannot see at all when the headaches begin. Some may have
difficulty thinking. Others see strange lights in front of their eyes. Many have upset stomachs and cannot keep
food down.

Seventy-five percent of those who get migraine headaches are women. In the United States, one of every five
women gets migraine headaches.

Doctor Glen Solomon is a headache expert at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Doctor Solomon says migraine
headaches cost a great deal in human suffering. He says they also cause major financial losses because migraine
sufferers are unable to work when they get the headaches. Doctor Solomon says the average migraine patient is
between twenty-five and fifty -five years old.

VOICE 1:

Carolyn is a person who suffers from migraine headaches. For many years Carolyn's life was limited because of
repeated migraine headaches. Her story is similar to many who suffer such headaches.

Other members of her family had the same problem. That is true of ninety percent of migraine patients.
Researchers believe that parents can pass the problem of migraine headaches to their children.

Carolyn had her first migraine headache when she was a young adult. It was so severe that she remained in bed
for sixteen hours. During that time she could not eat. She could not keep food in her stomach. She says the pain
was on one side of her head. It felt as if someone had struck her with a heavy stick. For a while Carolyn thought
she would die.

The next day, Carolyn felt better. Sadly, however, it was only the beginning of her experience with migraine
headaches. She began to have the headaches every month.


VOICE 2:

Doctors ordered medicines for her that were designed to reduce pain. They also suggested she make some
changes in her life. They told Carolyn to stop eating chocolate and cheese. They told her to stop drinking alcohol⁶.
She was advised not to sleep late in the morning --even if she needed more rest. The doctors told her not to look
at bright lights. They also told her to avoid being angry or sad.

The pain medicine helped reduce Carolyn's pain. However, it also made her want to sleep. She had to plan all her
activities around the headaches.

Recently, all that changed for Carolyn. She began taking the drug flurbiprofen (floor-by -'pro-fin). Now she can
eat and drink what she wants. And she can sleep late if she needs more rest.

VOICE 1:

Doctor Solomon says flurbiprofen provides a new life to those who suffer from migraine headaches. It can be
taken every day to prevent the headaches from starting. Or it can be taken to reduce pain after the headaches
begin. Doctors must order flurbiprofen for their patients with migraine headaches.

The United States Food and Drug Administration⁷ approved the first medicine for migraine headaches that people
can buy without a doctor’s order. It is called Excedrin Migraine. It contains the common medicines aspirin⁸ and
acetaminophen to ease⁹ pain. It also contains caffeine, a substance found in coffee and chocolate.

VOICE 2:

Doctors believe that most migraine headaches begin when blood passages in the brain begin to enlarge¹⁰. Caffeine
helps the blood passages reduce to their normal size.

VOICE 1:

Developments in medicine have not yet helped Richard, who suffers from cluster headaches. People who get this
kind of headache say they almost would choose to die instead of suffering the pain they experience. However,
like Carolyn, Richard is living a more normal life because of new medicine.

Doctors say cluster headaches most often strike men who are more than thirty years old. About one person in
every thousand people gets the headaches. Richard was thirty-seven when he had his first cluster headache.

VOICE 2:

Richard says he felt a terrible pain in his face, around one of his eyes. He says the pain felt as if someone was
stabbing¹¹ him in the eye with a knife. After several hours the pain stopped. But soon he had another headache.
Then he had another. Some lasted only thirty minutes. Others lasted as long as three hours.

Like other victims of cluster headaches, Richard had them in a series each time. Sometimes he had no headaches
for months. Then he would have another series of headaches causing severe pain.

It was suggested that the headaches might be caused by worrying or emotional¹² problems. Yet, Richard could not
find any connection between unpleasant events in his life and the cluster headaches. He could not link them to
anything he ate or drank.

VOICE 1:

For several years, doctors tried different drugs to treat Richard's headaches. The most effective treatment was a
chemical called capsaicin. Capsaicin is found in red peppers. It gives the peppers a hot, spicy¹³ taste.

Doctor Solomon says that the chemical is partly effective in stopping the series of headaches. He says the patient
places capsaicin in his or her nose when the headache starts. The treatment causes some brief pain. However, the
cluster headaches do stop, and capsaicin does not cause the possibly harmful side effects of other treatments.


VOICE 2:

A tension headache is not so severe as a migraine headache or as cluster headaches. Still, tension headaches
interfere¹⁴ with the lives of many Americans especially women. A study says women are fifteen percent more
likely to get tension headaches than men.

Pain from tension headaches usually affects both sides of a person's head. Muscles in the neck, face, jaws¹⁵ or
shoulders may become extremely tight. Common anti-pain medicines often can reduce the effects of tension
headaches. Yet, there is good reason to seek medical help if this kind of headache continues and is severe.

Doctor Solomon says the cause of tension headaches may be chemical depression.

People who suffer from tension headaches sometimes have difficulty sleeping or remembering things. They also
may feel very sad and have difficulty keeping their minds on what they are doing. These problems also describe
the condition of people suffering from emotional depression.

VOICE 1:

For many years, Clare had tension headaches repeatedly. Sometimes they could be cured by rest and the anti-pain
drug aspirin. However, there were times when nothing helped reduce Clare's headache pain. She had difficulty
remembering things, and could work for short periods only.

Finally, Clare spoke¹⁶ to her doctor about the problem. The doctor ordered tests. After studying the test results, the
doctor suggested she take small amounts of a thyroid substance. The thyroid is an organ found in the neck. It
produces hormones¹⁷ that control the chemical and physical processes of the body.

The thyroid substance helped reduce the pain of Clare's headaches. Although the headaches are not completely
gone, Clare is now able to work for long periods. Also, her headaches interfere less with her ability to remember.

VOICE 2:

Everyone has a headache at one time or another. Pain can be caused by many different problems. These could be
eye difficulties, or blood problems. Headaches also can be the result of life-threatening conditions such as
bleeding in the brain or a cancerous growth in the head. Doctors say a person should seek medical help if
headaches happen often, or are especially severe.

((Theme))

VOICE 2:

This science in the news program was written by Jerilyn Watson and Shelley Gollust. This is bob doughty.

VOICE 1:

And this is Sarah Long. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English, on the Voice of
America.

Email this article to a friend
Printer Friendly Version

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 cluster   

n.串，簇，群，组；vi.群集，丛生；vt.集中

参考例句：

• She held a cluster of flowers in her arms.她抱着一束鲜花。
• A cluster of tourists was surrounded in the hill.一群游客被困在了山中。

4 tension   

n.(紧张)状态；拉(绷)紧；张力，拉力

参考例句：

• I could feel the tension in the room. 我可以感觉到房间里的紧张气氛。
• Relaxaion is better than tension. 缓和比紧张好。

5 repeatedly   

adv.重复地，再三地

参考例句：

• The loudspeakers blared the speech repeatedly.扬声器里反复大声地播送那篇演讲。
• He repeatedly beat his foot upon the floor.他反复用脚敲着地板。

6 alcohol   

n.酒精，乙醇；含酒精的饮料

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors.法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。
• The alcohol is industrial.这些酒精是供工业用的。

7 administration   

n.经营，管理；行政，行政机关，管理部门

参考例句：

• Who is in charge of the administration of your company?你们公司的行政工作由谁负责？
• The teachers are responsible to the school administration.教师向学校行政负责。

8 aspirin   

n.阿司匹林

参考例句：

• The aspirin seems to quiet the headache.阿司匹林似乎使头痛减轻了。
• She went into a chemist's and bought some aspirin.她进了一家药店，买了些阿司匹林。

9 ease   

n. 安乐,安逸,悠闲; v. 使...安乐,使...安心,减轻,放松

参考例句：

• His mind was at ease and he felt confident in the future. 他心情舒畅,对前途很有信心。
• You should ease up on the child and stop scolding her. 你应该对那个孩子宽松些,不要再骂她了。

10 enlarge   

vt.扩大，扩展，使增大

参考例句：

• This photograph is too small,please enlarge it for me.这张照片太小，请把它给我放大。
• This book is intended to enlarge vocabulary.这本书的目的是为了扩大词汇量。

11 stabbing   

n.用利器伤人

参考例句：

• A few searchlights went stabbing through the dusk and then faded. 几盏探照灯戳穿夜幕，接着又熄了。 来自演讲部分
• The red knife of light appeared stabbing the darkness through and through. 阳光象一柄红色利剑，刺透了一层层黑暗。

12 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

13 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

14 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

15 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

16 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

17 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。