VOA慢速英语--美国卫生署尝试测量疼痛水平

US Health Agency Wants to Measure Pain

Scientists have long known that pain’s intensity¹ is difficult to measure because people experience pain differently.

In the case of 17-year-old Sarah Taylor, doctors struggled to understand her levels of pain from childhood arthritis² and fibromyalgia.

“It’s really hard when people can’t see how much pain you’re in, because they have to take your word on it and sometimes, they don’t quite believe you,” she said.

Some scientists working with Taylor are now trying to develop an objective way to measure pain.

They are measuring the reaction inside Taylor’s eyes when she reports pain and when she does not.

Dr. Julia Finkel is with Children’s National Medical Center in Washington. She invented an experimental device that is being used with Taylor.

Pain hard to measure

Doctors have traditionally asked patients to rate their pain on a scale of one to 10. That can be a problem, however.

Medical workers can estimate babies’ pain from their cries and movements. But the pain one person rates as seven, for example, might be four to someone who is more tolerant of pain. These differences make it difficult to show how well new medicines to ease pain really work.

The question is especially important because of the increasing and deadly misuse³ of painkilling⁴ drugs in the United States.

Taylor said, “It’s frustrating⁵ to be in pain and you have to wait like six weeks, two months, to see if the drug’s working.”

She uses a combination of medications, acupuncture⁶ and exercise to ease pain.

Dr. Francis Collins is the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). His agency is trying to develop what he calls a “pain-o-meter.” The goal is to be able to find out what kind of drug will be most effective for a patient.

David Thomas is with NIH’s National Institute on Drug Abuse. He noted⁷, “We’re not creating a lie detector⁸ for pain.” He said, “We do not want to lose the patient voice.”

Now, scientists around the country are using brain studies, pupil reactions and other methods in research supported by the NIH.

“There won’t be a single signature of pain,” Thomas said. He predicted that several different methods will create “something of a fingerprint⁹ of pain.”

NIH estimates that 25 million people in the U.S. experience daily pain. Sarah Taylor of Potomac, Maryland, is one of them. She was very young when, her joints¹⁰ started aching. She had bad headaches and swelling¹¹ of the spine¹². Then, two years ago, she was found to have fibromyalgia, a condition of pain all over the body.

Recently, a researcher worked with Taylor using the pupil-tracking device attached to a smartphone.

Dr. Finkel directs pain research at the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical¹³ Innovation at Children’s National Hospital. She noted that the eye is a window to pain centers in the brain. She said that some nerves send pain signals that affect muscles of the pupils. Finkel’s device follows the pupils’ reactions to light and other stimulation¹⁴ that is not pain. The goal is to find differences that might permit the measurement of the intensity of pain.

Finkel also said the presence of some kinds of drugs can be detected by other changes in a resting pupil. In December, the Food and Drug Administration announced it would help a company that Finkel started, called AlgometRx, develop a device to carry out fast drug tests.

Other scientists want to look deeper – into the brain.

Scientists with Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital have found that brain images using an MRI can show changes in the brain linked to pain. They suggest that patterns of inflammation in the brain can be linked to fibromyalgia and back pain.

Other researchers are studying the brain waves linked to pain and how areas of the brain “light up” with different kinds of pain.

The NIH is interested in discovering the biological markers that let some people recover from severe pain while others have long-term pain.

I’m Mario Ritter Jr.

Words in This Story

tolerant –adj. able to accept or deal with something

frustrating –adj. causing feelings of anger or annoyance¹⁵

acupuncture –n. a method of easing pain or illness by placing needles into a person’s skin at special places

pupil –n. the round center of the eye

stimulation –n. to make something more active

signature –n. a feature in the appearance or qualities of a natural object formerly¹⁶ held to indicate its utility in medicine

pattern –n. something that happens in a regular or repeated way

inflammation –n. a condition in which part of the body becomes red, swollen or painful

1 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

2 arthritis   

n.关节炎

参考例句：

• Rheumatoid arthritis has also been linked with the virus.风湿性关节炎也与这种病毒有关。
• He spent three months in the hospital with acute rheumatic arthritis.他患急性风湿性关节炎，在医院住了三个月。

3 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

4 painkilling   

[医]止痛的

参考例句：

• Painkilling drugs were not enough to relieve her suffering. 止痛药不能缓解她的痛苦。 来自互联网
• The effect of the painkilling drug didn't wear off for several hours. 止痛药的药效好几个锺头之仍未消失。 来自互联网

5 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 acupuncture   

n.针灸，针刺法，针疗法

参考例句：

• Written records show that acupuncture dates back to the Song Dynasty.文字记载表明，宋朝就已经有了针灸。
• It's known that acupuncture originated in China.众所周知，针灸起源于中国。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 detector   

n.发觉者，探测器

参考例句：

• The detector is housed in a streamlined cylindrical container.探测器安装在流线型圆柱形容器内。
• Please walk through the metal detector.请走过金属检测器。

9 fingerprint   

n.指纹；vt.取...的指纹

参考例句：

• The fingerprint expert was asked to testify at the trial.指纹专家应邀出庭作证。
• The court heard evidence from a fingerprint expert.法院听取了指纹专家的证词。

10 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

11 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

12 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。

13 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

14 stimulation   

n.刺激，激励，鼓舞

参考例句：

• The playgroup provides plenty of stimulation for the children.幼儿游戏组给孩子很多启发。
• You don't get any intellectual stimulation in this job.你不能从这份工作中获得任何智力启发。

15 annoyance   

n.恼怒，生气，烦恼

参考例句：

• Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
• I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。

16 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。