1 . Scientists from Imperial College London have found that using virtual reality(VR)headsets can reduce sensitivity to pain, by immersing(沉浸)people in icy Arctic scenery. In a study published in Pain Reports, a team from Imperial used VR video to reduce people’s sensitivity to ongoing pain and sharp shooting pain.
According to the researchers, the findings add to the growing evidence for the potential of VR technology to help patients with long-term pain. Beyond the distracting effect, they think VR may actually cause the body’s own inbuilt pain-fighting systems to start working.
Dr Sam Hughes, the first author on the paper, said "Our work suggests that VR may be getting involved in processes in the key parts of our inbuilt pain-fighting systems and are helpful in regulating the spread of increased sensitivity to pain.
To test their theory, researchers applied a cream containing capsaicin(辣椒素)-the chemical that makes your mouth bum-to 15 healthy volunteers. The capsaicin makes the skin more sensitive to painful stimuli(刺激)like a very small electric shock.
In the first trial, participants were then asked to rate the pain caused by the capsaicin cream on a scale of 0-100 (from 'no pain' to 'worst pain possible' )while either watching a VR scene of Arctic exploration through a headset, or looking at a still image of an Arctic scene on a monitor. Under the same conditions, they were also asked to say when a stimulus applied directly to the skin area is considered as painful.
The team found that ongoing pain was reduced following VR immersion, and that sensitivity to painful stimuli was also reduced. However, the same effect was not seen in people who looked at still images of the polar environment.
They explain that while the findings made at the beginning are encouraging, the study is limited by the small number of healthy participants, without long-term pain. However, the researchers believe VR could hold a bright future to treat patients with long-term pain who have poor inbuilt pain fighting systems.
1. How can VR possibly help long-term pain sufferers?| A．By making their pain-fighting systems function. |
| B．By drawing their attention to fighting pain. |
| C．By controlling the spread of pain sensitivity. |
| D．By slowing down their brains' reaction to pain. |
| A．Making a capsaicin cream. |
| B．Putting on virtual reality headsets. |
| C．Applying capsaicin cream to the skin. |
| D．Looking at pictures on a computer screen. |
| A．Still images helped to ease people's pain. |
| B．VR immersion was the key factor in pain reduction. |
| C．Healthy people were less sensitive to VR than pain sufferers. |
| D．Capsaicin cream brought people more pain than electronic stimulus. |
| A．The team feels confident about future VR treatment. |
| B．The researchers will work on the side effect of VR. |
| C．VR treatment can be applied in other medical fields. |
| D．The trial only has an effect on short-term pain patients. |
2 . An aspirin a day keeps the doctor away
Dr. Tim Johnson discusses evidence of a daily dose of aspirin’s benefits. That’s not the saying, but doctors have agreed, for about a generation, that an aspirin a day is good for you. It may reduce the risk of heart attacks or strokes by 20 percent or more.
The US Preventive Services Task Force, an independent group convened by the Department of Health and Human Services, has published guidelines that it says should end the confusion.
The key points:
.1. Men should start a daily aspirin at age 45, mainly to protect against heart attacks.
.2. Women should start at 55, mainly to protect against stroke.
.3. For both sexes, a baby aspirin-typically 81 milligram a day-will do the job. There is no evidence that a large dose makes a difference.
.4. And both sexes should stop by age 80, unless their doctors say otherwise. As you get older, there’s a greater risk of bleeding in the brain or the digestive system, a risk that is small but can be deadly in some cases.
If people start taking aspirin as the guidelines, doctors say their risk of heart attacks will drop by about 20 percent. “People may ask themselves ‘Am I at risk for a heart attack or a stroke?’” said Dr. Randal Thomas, director ofcardiovas-cular health at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota “If. you are age 45 and male, if you’re above age 55 and female, the answer is most likely yes, and you will most likely benefit from taking a small dose of aspirin a day.
1. What might Dr. Tim Johnson think of taking an aspirin a day?| A．It is useless for the old. | B．It will keep the doctor away. |
| C．It is beneficial to health. | D．It will have harmful side effects. |
| A．The aspirin has the same effect on both men and women. |
| B．A large dose of aspirin will cause bleeding in the brain. |
| C．People should start taking aspirin at age 45. |
| D．It will be a waste if you take more than 81 milligram of aspirin a day. |
| A．Critical. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Cautious. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．How to keep the doctor away. | B．How to reduce the healthy risk. |
| C．What are benefits of aspirin. | D．Who should take aspirin and when. |
