Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache
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Comparative Study Controlled Clinical Trial
Detoxification of medication-overuse headache by a multidisciplinary treatment programme is highly effective: a comparison of two consecutive treatment methods in an open-label design.
Evidence for optimal medication-overuse headache treatment is lacking. Some experts suggest reduced symptomatic medication with prophylactics from the start of withdrawal, while others suggest a two-month drug-free period with multidisciplinary education. ⋯ Both structured detoxification programmes proved highly effective with one-year close follow-up in previously treatment-resistant patients with medication-overuse headache. We suggest multidisciplinary education for patients in groups and delaying initiation of prophylactics until after the detoxification.
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Despite significant advances in unravelling the pathophysiology of cluster headache (CH), little is known about neuropsychological functioning. Apart from neuroimaging studies indicating involvement of posterior hypothalamic and other areas frequently involved in nociception, some studies suggest involvement of prefrontal areas. Among others, these mediate executive functioning (EF). ⋯ These findings are in line with a recently proposed involvement of prefrontal structures in CH pathophysiology as patients performed worse on neuropsychological tasks relying on these structures. Impaired EF could also result from medication and sleep disturbances due to active CH. Because the decreased performance was also present outside the attacks it may hint at generally altered brain functions, but do not necessarily reflect clinically relevant behaviour.