European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 04, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday september 4, 1985 the stars and stripes Page 17 Cluster headaches a puzzling ambush of the brain by Elizabeth Pennisi United press International or researchers the Cluster headache is a fascinating and olten frustrating Enigma. It strikes mostly men. But one Type affects Young women. The pain is one sided but not traceable to any one nerve. The pattern of recurrence is predictable but then the headaches can disappear for years. The condition does not run in families but does occur in people with similar habits and facial features. Someone who suffers from Cluster headaches must always be on the Lookout for another attack. The pain has made some men violent. The headache first ambushes the brain with a sudden Stab initially above the eyes then near the upper Back Teeth. A Dull diffuse ache follows and becomes focused behind one Eye As it intensifies. Then comes a choking sensation that loosening a shirt Collar cannot help. Neither will dropping the head Between the legs. It feels As if a burning poker is being driven into an Eye. That Eye swells the eyelid droops the face pales. Tears flow As pain peaks sometimes leveling off for a half hour before slowly receding and leaving a tingling where intolerable pain was minutes before. These headaches rarely come one at at time. In some people they occur Dally usually in Spring and fall then disappear Tor Many weeks. It almost always occurs at the same time of the Day said or. David Coddon director of the headache clinic at mount Sinai medical Center in new York. Attacks May Wake a person shortly after going to sleep or strike As one is settling Down to relax after work. Other people have several headaches a Day. Sometimes for years. These patterns seem to Point to the body s timekeeper the hypothalamus As basis for the headache said or. Joel Saper director of the Michigan headache and neurological Institute in Ann Arbor. This nerve Cluster in the brain regulates the ebb and flow of hormones that keep the body to an 24-hour schedule and possibly prepares it for seasonal changes. As the body adjusts to changing seasons and from Day to night or wakefulness to Bleep chemical imbalances May pave the Way for headaches Saper said. But scientists have few dues As to what might be going wrong in the hypothalamus and possibly cause these headaches. Erma Bombeck Coddon suspects a virus that attacks Only nervous tissue might be responsible but Saper said no evidence supports that idea. For headache experts the symptoms indicate clearly a Cluster diagnosis. But patients often blame bad eyes sinuses and Teeth first. Most of them Don t know what they  Coddon said. They think it s in the Eye. Then the Eye exam comes out Normal. Then they go to the nose and Throat specialist for their sinuses and then they go to the  in contrast to migraine headaches which occur rare headache cause intense pain cause of Cluster headaches is unknown but appears to affect mostly men with similar facial characteristics. Reddish complexion Blue or Hazel eyes primarily in women. 90 percent of Cluster headaches oct i in men. Saper said. These men Are Likely to be heavy smokers and to drink alcohol which can bring on the pain. Some people Are so sensitive that even the alcohol in mouthwash or shaving lotion can provoke an attack Saper said. About 80 percent of these patients have similar facial characteristics Ruddy complexion deeply furrowed forehead Broad Skull Square Chin and pitted coarse skin Akin to an Orange Peel. Those people with chronic Cluster headaches that last for years Ere also Likely to have Blue or Hazel eyes Saper said. But it in t  Coddon said i be seen men with peaches and Cream  treatment varies and there is no cure. One important concept with chronic headache is the recognition that we re not dealing with a find it fix it problem Saper said. We know something is wrong but the ability to find the cause is limited probably because the disturbance is deep within the  no one therapy works. Efforts to avoid that which might trigger attacks to treat symptoms As soon As they appear and to prevent the headache All together succeed to different degrees in each patient. For some people changing one s habits to even out the stresses of the Day quitting smoking or staying away from alcohol reduces the frequency of attacks. Saper said 65 percent to 75 percent can ease the pain by breathing pure oxygen As soon As they feel the headache coming on. Steroids and drugs known As Calcium Channel blockers can also prevent the headache and can be prescribed for Short periods while a headache Cluster is occurring. Occasionally some of the nerves in the face will be removed to Dampen pain. Some therapies work for a while sometimes years ther cease to help said Coddon. Then it s time to try another approach. The Best advice any of us can give is find a physician who is interested in this condition and allow that physician to custom make a treatment for that person Saper said. Idon t think there is anything that puts More of Astrain on marriage than disciplining  s really rare when a Mother and a father agree on Whai is a crime and How they re going to Deal with it. Fathers tend to be logical and fair. Mothers on the other hand draw from experience and gut feelings. My husband for example has never understood my Short term Deposit withdrawal plan. Say i found the Back door open in the dead of Winter. I Collar the first kid i see. Pin him against the Wall and say that tears it. You Are grounded for the next three weeks when it is discovered the wind blew the door open the sentence still stands for All the times he left the door open and i did t see him. Mentally i record that i owe him one open door in the  men like to drag things out by talking about a child s motivation for what he did what kind of punishment he thinks he should have and How he feels about it. The closest i Ever came to this theory was when my son ate a Hole in the Gelatin Mold and i said. Why would you do such a thing when you knew it was for company answer Mel Don t talk with food in your Mouth my husband says the biggest problem with discipline is that i make impossible threats that i cannot possibly deliver. He says i Back myself into a Corner and if my Bluff is Ever called i la lose face. Major among these have been if you Don t clean your room i am going to Board it up separate it from the House and put it on the Back of the lot downwind where you can live like a wino in  ii you Don Tup and eat right i m going to install a Large Mirror hit of your face and hire a camera Crew to film you id play it Back at your wedding so their girl can see what she s  parents Are the supreme court Lor siblings. There Are no appeals and i am a firm believer that past crime can be introduced and used against the accused As often As necessary. I once used a toilet training mis Demeanour in an argument involving Why we never got letters from College the biggest problem we All have is making the punishment fit the crime. I Don t see such a big Deal about leaving daddy s Drill out in the rain. A Little Oil and it s As Good As new. Ana i be never understood Why men make such a Flap about their son borrowing a tie and leaving it in a school locker for six months. It s not like they Don t know where it is. However climbing into my car and having to adjust the seat Mirror and radio dials should be punishable by incarceration somewhere. This is not to say my husband is always wrong. One night the kids were Messing around at the dinner table and i said. That s it. All of you go to your rooms without  joyfully they ran to their rooms. As my husband pushed away from the table to join them he said. That was t much of a  i think he was right but i did t want to hear Why. In lot and to i to twi syndic