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The Red & Black | Wednesday, August 16, 2006 | 3B
Study to relieve
headache issues
Pains may be
caused by diet
By PT UMPHRESS
pumphress@randb.com
While many of us are not
strangers to the throbbing
head pains of a mammoth
hangover, only a select por
tion of our population have
been blessed with a propen
sity to suffer from migraines
— debilitating, episodic
headaches that can not only
incapacitate sufferers, but
also, when undiagnosed,
lead many to the emergency
room repeatedly.
However, one University
professor aims to solve this
problem.
Jackie Kwong, an assis
tant professor at the
University’s College of
Pharmacy with nine years
experience studying
migraine outcomes research,
has embarked upon a study
examining post-ER care for
migraine patients.
Migraine is a neurological
disease, the primary symp
tom of which is severe vas
cular headaches.
Most sufferers also enjoy
the accompaniments of pho
tophobia (hypersensitivity
to light), phonophobia
(hypersensitivity to sound)
and nausea.
Migraine headaches often
are triggered by allergic
reactions, excess carbohy
drates or iodine in the diet,
alcohol, bright lights or loud
noises.
All of this information,
however, is largely unknown
to many sufferers who
have yet to be properly diag
nosed.
“Of the 28 million people
in this country who suffer
from migraines, fewer than
50 percent have been diag
nosed by physicians, 1 ' Kwong
said in a press release.
Kwong’s study, which is
funded by the
Pharmaceutical Researchers
and Manufacturers of
America (PHARMA) and the
UGA Research Foundation,
uses data from Georgia
Medicaid patients who have
gone to the ER for
headaches.
"Headache is the sixth
most common reason for
going to an emergency
room," Kwong said.
"Studies of follow-up
screenings of these migraine
sufferers have shown that
only 30 percent of headache
patients going to emergency
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‘Trivia Joe’ is rocker and talker
MIGRAINE TRIGGERS
►Allergies
►Excess Carbohydrates
►Alcohol
►Bright Lights
►Loud Noises
►Stress
rooms are correctly diag
nosed as migraine sufferers,
even though symptoms may
indicate that diagnosis."
This is a serious pain in
the head since, despite the
fact that many good medica
tions now exist for migraine
headaches, many sufferers
try to treat their headaches
with ineffective over-the-
counter drugs.
Not only could Kwong's
study save a lot of people
head pains, but it also could
relieve people's (and compa
nies') wallets.
Kwong hypothesizes that
"if we have evidence that fol
low-up care can reduce
health care costs, then we'll
be able to develop interven
tion programs to facilitate
patients receiving the care
they need in an emergency
room setting."
Poring over data tables
may seem like a real
headache, but it’s one
Kwong is willing to weather
in order to save countless
others from their own cra
nial smarting.
By SONIA SHARAN
ssharan@randb.com
Around Athens, Joe
Guerzo goes by many
names: Flood City Joe,
Trivia Joe, TWISH Joe and
Otter Joe (Guerzo’s a big
fan of otters).
In addition to having
multiple names, he wears
multiple hats.
He works as the trivia
guy at Loco’s Grill & Pub,
sings lead and plays the gui
tar in both Flood City
Shootout and his new band
The Vinyl Strangers and
develops and produces his
own television show TWISH,
This Week In Southern
Hockey.
After graduating from
State University of New
York at Buffalo in 1996 with
a bachelor of arts in history,
Guerzo moved down to
Athens with a friend.
Athens is “a great place
to be an artist,” he said.
He manages all of his
roles by overlapping his
interests. Combining ele
ments of his different roles
allows him to create some
thing innovative.
“He just has a passion for
creativity and making beau
tiful things, which he
expresses in his music and
TV show,” said Guerzo’s
girlfriend Alexandra
Holland. “He is truly a very
caring and sensitive person,
and that is expressed in the
way he lives his day-to-day
life and the words in his
music.”
Derek Debono, the drum
mer for Flood City Shootout
and a 1994 University gradu
ate, described the band as
“Americana rock, kind of
country-esque.”
Guerzo’s other band, The
Vinyl Strangers, is a combi
nation of his first band,
Flood City Shootout and
local band The High Caliber.
He described the sound
as “indie rock, close to
garage-band pop.”
The band is working on
an album that it will start
recording in May. It already
has some songs posted on
MySpace.
As part of a regional
band, Guerzo tours the
Southeast.
“Joe is one of the best
people to play and travel
with. His stage presence is
unbeatable,” Debono said.
“I have seen Joe rock harder
than anyone in Athens in
front of an audience of three
people.”
In 2002, Joe began pro
ducing his own television
hockey show, TWISH.
He was able to schedule
work for his show around
Flood City Shootout’s tour
schedule.
While on tour, the band
would watch hockey games,
and after the game some of
the players would come out
and watch the band play.
Guerzo said he created
the show out of his passion
for the game and as a way
to “keep the guys out of
trouble.”
The band’s music often
plays in the background,
and Guerzo occasionally
shows his music videos.
The band members are
also the production crew.
They are the cameramen,
and their friends and fans
are “TWISH girls.”
“It’s a great time getting
to go ‘backstage’ at a sport
ing event,” said Debono,
who is also a cameraman for
the show. “Pretty much the
same as being backstage at
a rock show — it smells
bad.”
TWISH features Guerzo’s
interviews of the players, a
highlighted game of the
week and a fight of the
week. Guerzo attempts to
expose fans of the band to
his show and vice versa.
Although the show is on
UPN in Auburn, Knoxville,
and Opelika, Ala., it is not
available in Athens.
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