Headache
-
Letter Case Reports
A migraine-like headache induced by carotid-cavernous fistula.
Carotid-cavernous fistula (CCF) generally causes periorbital aching with ocular symptoms due to high venous pressure in the cavernous sinus, while migraine is caused by arterial dilatation-stimulating trigeminal nerves around the vessels. The authors present a case of 47-year-old woman with a 4-month history of a temporal throbbing headache. As her symptoms were well controlled by triptans, her headache was considered to be migraine in type. ⋯ Self-compression of common carotid artery method was initially tried for therapy of the CCF, but endovascular embolization was finally necessary due to intractable headache. Although the headache was considered arterial in origin, transvenous embolization of the left cavernous sinus successfully ameliorated the patient's symptoms. CCF should be considered as an unusual etiology of headaches that appear arterial in origin.
-
Letter Case Reports
Thunderclap headache caused by minimally invasive medical procedures: description of 2 cases.
We report 2 very unusual cases of thunderclap headache complicating minimally invasive medical procedures. In the first case headache developed as the consequence of a pneumocephalus caused by an inadvertent intrathecal puncture during oxygen-ozone therapy for lumbar disk herniation. The second case involved intracranial hypotension, caused by the persistence of the needle, used for epidural anesthesia, and then penetrated in the subarachnoid space.
-
The prevalence of migraine is 2 to 3-fold higher in females than in males, and it is intricately related to the levels of female sex hormones. These hormones may regulate the synthesis and receptor expression of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which mediates neurogenic dural vasodilatation and is implicated in migraine pathogenesis. ⋯ Our results show that, in contrast to CGRP- or capsaicin-induced dural vasodilatation, 17beta-estradiol enhanced neurogenic vasodilatation, suggesting increased CGRP release from perivascular nerves. This may be one of the mechanisms through which 17beta-estradiol exacerbates migraine in women.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of thioctic acid in migraine prophylaxis.
Impaired mitochondrial phosphorylation potential may play a role in migraine pathogenesis. Metabolic enhancers, such as riboflavin or coenzyme Q, are effective in migraine prophylaxis and quasi-devoid of adverse effects. Thioctic acid (-lipoic acid) is another substance known to enhance energy metabolism in mitochondria and to be beneficial in diabetic neuropathy. ⋯ Albeit underpowered, this study tends to indicate that thioctic acid may be beneficial in migraine prophylaxis. Before any firm conclusion can be drawn, however, a large multicenter trial is necessary.
-
To quantify and characterize the similarities and the differences between chronic migraine (CM) patients with medication overuse and episodic migraine (EM) patients with only occasional analgesic use. ⋯ CM patients present more multiple comorbid disorders, polypharmacy, and social impediments than EM patients. These associated conditions complicate CM clinical management. Even after withdrawal from medication overuse, CM could not be completely reverted by current prophylactic treatments.