8. In turns ask and answer the following questions.
1. What are the most common symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease?
2. Does cerebral palsy only affect muscles?
3. When can seizures be diagnosed as epilepsy?
4. Can people recover from MND?
5. What part of the nervous system is damaged in MS?
6. Does MS affect more women or men?
7. What other causes can damage the nervous system?
8. What are the most common symptoms of concussion?
9. Listen to the following recording about concussion symptoms and treatment and answer the questions.
1. What is concussion?
2. How long can it last?
3. Do symptoms always appear immediately after the concussion?
4. When is a headache a worrying condition?
5. Do you have to be worried if you feel sleepy after a concussion?
6. Which pre-existing conditions may represent a problem if you have had a concussion?
7. Why should you try to make someone speak if you suspect a concussion after an accident?
8. What visible signs should alarm you if you are giving aid to someone who has had an accident?
10. Read the following passage, underline the main ideas and then summarise it orally.
Do helmets protect against concussion?
Hard helmets protect reasonably well against translational (lateral) movements and the impact injuries they cause, significantly reducing the risk of fractures and intracranial bleeding. They are less effective against rotational movements, which researchers believe are responsible for most concussions.
This means that a helmet may protect the head better against severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), which is caused by translational forces, than against concussion. Why? Helmets are designed mainly to dissipate force. Most sports helmets consist of a hard outer shell and an inner foam layer, normally of polystyrene. The hard shell dissipates the impact force over a larger area. At the same time, the foam inner section also reduces the impact, by extending the distance of head deceleration, which makes the movement less violent.
The foam layer also deforms, absorbing as much of the remaining energy as possible. While these factors decrease the level of the impact force, they do little against rotational forces caused by head movement and the concussion this might cause.
Many current attempts to improve helmets still focus on decreasing impact by using new materials, or on developing different foam and shell arrangements. Helmets, of course, are good for protecting against brain injuries. But they don’t do a good job against all types of head impact. Different impacts cause different head movements, and different head movements result in different injuries.
CTE
Did you know that a recent study has found that 110 of 111 deceased former National Football League (NFL) players had evidence of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)? This was the result of repeated injuries to the head.
GLOSSARY
to behave: comportarsi
concussion: commozione cerebrale
consciousness: coscienza
due to: dovuto a
foam layer: strato di schiuma
impaired: indebolito
to lead: condurre, portare
palsy: paralisi
range: gamma
translational movements: movimenti di spostamento laterale del cranio
seizure: convulsione
task: compito
weakness: debolezza