Helping women head off migraines
   If you’re a woman, odds are the last headache you had was a migraine. Surprised? Millions of women suffer from migraines, and many don’t even know it. Instead, they attribute their pain and discomfort to sinus or tension headaches, allergies or the weather. Even after being diagnosed with migraines, some of the roughly 20 percent of women who are afflicted still don’t believe that’s what’s ailing them. In part, that’s because there’s a stigma attached to migraines, says Georgia State University nursing professor Margaret Moloney. “People often associate migraine headaches, especially in women, with being an excuse to get out of something that they don’t want to do,” she says. Fortunately, people are now realizing that migraines have a physiological cause, including women’s erratic levels of estrogen during the perimenopausal years. Moloney hopes her research will help medical professionals – and the women themselves – learn how to prevent or effectively treat the sometimes debilitating headaches. For more information, contact Moloney at 404/651-1717 or mmoloney@gsu.edu.

Researcher: Distract, don’t comfort, kids at the doctor’s office
   Each day thousands of children face invasive medical treatments ranging from chemotherapy to routine immunizations. For many of them, as well as for their doctors, nurses and parents, the experience can prove agonizing. Georgia State University psychology professor Lindsey Cohen is developing new ways to help young patients cope. Comforting a child can ratchet up tension by giving the child a cue that something unpleasant is about to occur, Cohen says. His research shows some children respond well to distractions – from watching movies to being asked questions during procedures. “Unfortunately, children are the least treated for their pain, in part because there are lingering myths about pediatric pain,” he says. “For example, people have believed that children don’t experience pain as intensely as do adults, that children won’t remember the pain, and that the danger of anesthetics outweighs the benefits. But these myths have largely been refuted.” For more information, contact Cohen at 404/651-1605 or llcohen@gsu.edu.

Treating adolescent depression differently
   Recent concerns over prescribing antidepressants to children have many mental-health workers reflecting on the best ways to treat depression in adolescents. And generally speaking, says Georgia State University psychology professor Lawrence Riso, psychotherapists have a lot to learn about effectively helping them. “(Adolescents) don’t respond well to medicine,” says Riso. “They respond poorly to psychotherapy. Often they don’t show up for treatment. They’re poorly identified as being depressed because they don’t have the same symptoms of depression as adults do. And often they just want to be left alone.” Riso is exploring ways to strengthen the therapeutic alliance between depressed adolescents and their therapists. He’s hoping that finding a balance between the level of dominance and passivity during counseling, as well as diffusing adolescent hostility during sessions, will keep depressed teens engaged in much-needed therapy. “Depression in adolescents has tremendous ramifications,” he says. “When one is depressed during adolescence, you’re not engaging with people, with activities. You’re missing out on important socialization. And you can’t get that back.” For more information, contact Riso at 404/651-1169 or riso@gsu.edu.

This is your brain on drugs: Or is it?
   In 1987, the image of two eggs frying in a pan became synonymous with the dangers of recreational drug use in one of the most influential TV commercials of the past two decades. Dramatic yes, but accurate? Today’s scientists are asking the question because, in reality, the causes and effects of drug abuse are extraordinarily complex — especially in the adolescent brain. Drugs that affect adults one way often affect adolescents differently. What’s more, little is known about the long-term consequences of drug abuse in adolescents. Kyle Frantz, assistant professor of biology at Georgia State University, is exploring precisely how commonly abused drugs – including ecstasy, cocaine and nicotine -- affect adolescent brains and behavior. Frantz focuses on these drugs, as well as amphetamines and caffeine, all of which are known as psychomotor stimulants. For more information, contact Frantz at 404/651-1487 or kfrantz@gsu.edu.

Georgia State Leads is a biweekly e-mail publication from the Department of University Relations. For more information about the publication or to sign up to receive Georgia State Leads, contact Beth Flannigan at 404/651-3576 or bflannigan@gsu.edu.

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