Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology

Case study
Pathophysiology
Running Head: TASK 0

TASK 1
Executive summary
The discussion revolves around the changes that takes place at the cellular and the
organ level of the body when the stimuli triggers condition like nausea and headache. This
condition has been presented in the case of a 24 years old woman. The main changes involve
contraction of blood vessels in the brain stem and the brain due to release of serotonin which
results in triggering of pain and stiffness in muscles and head.

TASK 2
Contents
Executive summary....................................................................................................................1
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Pathophysiological process affecting patient.............................................................................3
Racial effects..............................................................................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................4
References..................................................................................................................................5

TASK 3
Introduction
This report takes into account the case of a 24-year-old woman who have these
symptoms since past few weeks. It discusses about the changes that happens in the
musculoskeletal and neurological system of the person even they fell nausea, headache and
sensitivity of lights. Hence, to look into the matter more vividly, this report discusses the
possible changes occurring and the effect of the racial factors in the same, backend by the
scientific facts.
Pathophysiological process affecting patient
The severe headache and pain accompanied by nausea and vomiting indicate the
condition like migraine. The throbbing effect on eyes due to light is another symptom which
is quite common among patients with the migraine. Hence, in context with the migraine
headaches, there are several neurological and musculoskeletal changes that can be observed.
In this condition, the pain gets triggered due to the stimuli or the agents such as stress,
worries, temperature and light that irritate and pokes the activity of brain cells. The serotonin
chemical is released in the blood which narrows down the blood vessels in the brain and
throughout the body by passing the signaling factor. This creates tension in the vessels and in
the blood flow which causes headache (Dao, 2018).
Additionally, the brainstem signaling process is altered especially at the dorsolateral
pons. Moreover, the cerebral vessels in the brain dilate and is considered as the primary
source of pain. Parallel with this it is also assumed that the pain gets triggered due to the
activation of sensory afferents that actively creates a junction where the neurons meet at the
caudalis. There are several alterations that takes place in the dura mater which causes cell
degranulation and significant change in the post-capillary venules like aggregation and
accumulation of the platelets. (Andrew Charles, 2010).
Besides the neural system, the musculoskeletal area is also affected due to the
stressful condition that triggers the pain. The stress causes the muscle to become less guarded
and shielded which results in pain in the shoulder and back. The muscle in this area becomes
tensed and gets contracted and give rise to pain and discomfort (Jull, 2018).
Nausea involves the complex interaction of the psychological state of the person as
well as the controlling zone of the brain such as central nervous system and autonomic
nervous system which gets triggered by the endocrine system as well as the dysrhythmic of

TASK 4
gastral organs like duodenum or stomach. Vomiting or nauseous feeling gets activated from
the nudges at the visceral and vestibular zone in the brain. Nausea gets triggered due to the
irritation in the nerve endings in the abdominal area including stomach which triggers the
zone of the brain which handles the condition of vomiting and nausea. Vasopressin has also
been studied to have a significant effect on the pathogenesis of nausea. It is an endocrine
secretion which gets increased before the process of vomiting or emesis as it affects the
gastric dysrhythmias (Braden Kuo, 2016).
Racial effects
It has been studied that among women the migraine is more prevalent due to frequent
changes in the serotonin and estrogen level in the body. Moreover, in terms of racial
diversity, it is more common in Caucasians and Africans which accounts for around 16 to 20
percent of cases. While Asian American accounts for around 9 percent. It suggests that the
race-related diversity and the genetic makeup make it more vulnerable to get affected due to
the pain. It has been also studied for 5 years that women had 15 percent and men had a 5
percent prevalence of this condition, with white people, have double the cases than Asians
and African Americans (Pressman, 2016).
Conclusion
Hence, with this discussion it is made evident that the woman might face the issue of
migraine, as the symptoms are more or less the same at the initial level. Unlike any regular
headache due to stress or tension, it involves major alteration in the muscular and
neurological system of the body and is more severe.

TASK 5
References
Andrew Charles, K. B. (2010). The neurobiology of migraine. Handbook of Clinical
Neurology, 9752(2), 97007-3.
Braden Kuo, P. S. (2016). Nausea: a review of pathophysiology and therapeutics.
Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology, 9(1), 98-112.
Dao, J. M. (2018). Headache diagnosis in children and adolescents. Current pain and
headache reports, 22(3), 17.
Jull, G. &. (2018). Cervical musculoskeletal dysfunction in headache: How should it be
defined? Musculoskeletal Science and Practice, 38, 148-150.
Pressman, A. J. (2016). Prevalence of migraine in a diverse community—electronic methods
for migraine ascertainment in a large integrated health plan. Cephalagia, 36(4), 325-
334.