1. szöveg
EPILEPSIES
The epilepsies are a spectrum of brain disorders ranging from severe, life threatening and disabling conditions to ones that are much more benign. In epilepsy the normal pattern of neuronal activity becomes disturbedby overactive electrical discharges, causing a temporary communication problem between nerve cells. Because of an imbalance of nerve signaling chemicals called neurotransmitters, strange sensations, emotions, and behavior will appear.
Seizures are the most common symptom of epilepsy, although many people can have a seizure during their lifetime without developing epilepsy. Having a single seizure as the result of a high fever or head injury does not necessarily mean having epilepsy. Only when a person has had two or more seizures is he considered to have epilepsy.
Seizures can be triggered under certain conditions, such as life-threatening dehydration or high temperature. For some people with epilepsy, particularly children, the seizures eventually become less frequent or disappear altogether. Epilepsy is not contagious, it is not passed down through families, but someone who has a close relative with epilepsy has a slightly higher risk than somebody with no family history of seizures.
Seizures fall into two main categories: partial and generalized.
Partial seizures start in one part of the brain. The electrical disturbances may then move to other parts of the brain.
In a Simple partial seizure the patient is conscious, is aware of his surroundings, even though the seizure is in progress. There may be twitching of the fingers, extremities, and facial muscles. The speech may become slurred. He might feel tingling in one side of the body.
In Complex partial seizuresconsciousness is impaired. The patient will not remember the seizure, and if he does, the recollection of the fit will be vague. Bouts of blinking and chewing may be experienced.
In Generalized seizures the patient’s consciousness is lost, he may stare off into space. The muscles may stiffen and the person might make sudden jerking motions, or fall over.
Most seizures last a few seconds or minutes. After a seizure is over, the person may be alert and ready to resume what he had been doing before the seizure happened.
While epilepsy cannot be cured, seizures can be controlled with medication, diet, devices, or surgery. A measurement of electrical activity in the brain and brain scans such as MRI or CT are common diagnostic tests.
Researchers are studying the underlying causes in all age-groups, as well as seizures that occur following brain trauma, tumors or stroke. The identification of genes and other genetic information allows physicians to predict which treatments will be most beneficial to patients with specific types of epilepsies. Scientists invented a flexible brain implant called a vagus nerve stimulator that sends signals in the neck to control seizures. Patients may enter trials of experiemental drugs and surgical interventions.
Source: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders epilepsy
2. szöveg
You are going to hear a dialogue between a doctor and a patient.
Doctor: I see you’ve been anaemic and you had a blood test last May. Has anything else troubled you?
Patient: I keep getting ringing in my ears and dizziness. I’m also breathless.
Doctor: All the time?
Patient: Most of the time.
Doctor: What do you do?
Patient: I’m a cook.
Doctor: How long has all this gone on?
Patient: Say, six month.
Doctor: Since your treatment with iron?
Patient: Yes, I keep getting dizzy spells.
Doctor: How often do you get them?
Patient: They come and go but last time I fell badly.
Doctor: Does anything bring them on?
Patient: When I try to move too quickly.
Doctor: What does actually happen?
Patient: I keep falling down.
Doctor: Do you know you’re going to fall?
Patient: I know I’m falling but I can’t stop myself.
Doctor: Do you collapse?
Patient: Yes.
Doctor: Do you fall in any particular way?
Patient: I keep falling forwards.
Doctor:You’ve hurt yourself more than once?
Patient: Oh, yes I go dizzy. I also hit myself when I fall.
Doctor: If you stand still do you hold on?
Patient: Yes.
Doctor: Does it affect your hearing?
Patient: I get ringing in my ears.
Doctor: What does it sound like?
Patient: Like waterfalls.
Doctor: How long?
Patient: Minutes.
Doctor: Any other accompanying symptoms? Do you feel sick?
Patient: Yes, early in the morning. Terribly.
Doctor: Have you been sick?
Patient: Oh, yes.
Doctor: Do you suffer from headaches?
Patient: I get terrible headaches. My periods last only half a day.
Doctor: How often do you have your periods?
Patient: It varies. Every two or three weeks.
Doctor: It is always like that?
Patient: Yes.
Doctor: When did they start?
Patient: When I was eleven. Then nine years ago they stopped for three years. They lasted five days before that.
Doctor: You say you are breathless?
Patient: Yes, I’m out of breath when going upstairs.
Doctor: Do you suffer from indigestion?
Patient: No.
Doctor: Do you get up at night?
Patient: No.
Doctor: How’s your appetite?
Patient: It is good.
Doctor: Do you smoke?
Patient: Fifteen to twenty a day.
Doctor: Do you drink?
Patient: Not a lot.
Doctor: Can I have your arm? I’ll take your blood pressure. Apart from iron tablets are you taking anything else?
Patient: Yes, sleeping pills.
Doctor: Let me look at your chest for a moment. Take a big breath. What are these pale patches on your cheeks?
Patient: They come from taking sleeping pills.
Doctor: Breathe through your mouth. When did you have your teeth out?
Patient: Four years ago.
Doctor: Have your bowel motions changed in colour?
Patient: Yes they are very dark. The iron tablets give me diarrhoea.
Doctor: I’ll look at your eyes now. Look at my finger. Keep your head still and follow it with your eyes. I can’t find any serious cause for anaemia. I’d like you to have your chest x-rayed, a skull x-ray, an EEG and further blood tests.
Source: Joy Parkinson: A Manual of English for the Overseas Doctor Churchill Livingstone