Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Prophylaxis of migraine with oral magnesium: results from a prospective, multi-center, placebo-controlled and double-blind randomized study.
In order to evaluate the prophylactic effect of oral magnesium, 81 patients aged 18-65 years with migraine according to the International Headache Society (IHS) criteria (mean attack frequency 3.6 per month) were examined. After a prospective baseline period of 4 weeks they received oral 600 mg (24 mmol) magnesium (trimagnesium dicitrate) daily for 12 weeks or placebo. In weeks 9-12 the attack frequency was reduced by 41.6% in the magnesium group and by 15.8% in the placebo group compared to the baseline (p < 0.05). ⋯ Duration and intensity of the attacks and the drug consumption per attack also tended to decrease compared to placebo but failed to be significant. Adverse events were diarrhea (18.6%) and gastric irritation (4.7%). High-dose oral magnesium appears to be effective in migraine prophylaxis.
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Fifty-eight migraineurs were studied by intermediate frequency steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) during headache-free periods. Sex, age, age of onset of migraine, duration of illness, type of migraine, side of pain, sleep-wake disorders, and frequency of migraine attacks did not correlate with any SSVEP abnormalities. On the other hand, visual responsiveness was significantly increased in subjects with family history of migraine, and in those with autonomic symptoms. Our results may indicate that a genetic predisposition to migraine underlies the observed abnormal visual response in migraineurs.
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The clinical features of idiopathic stabbing headache ("jabs and jolts syndrome") were studied in 38 patients who were diagnosed throughout a 1-year period. Mean age at the onset of symptoms was 47.1 years +/- 14.5 (SD), and a clear female preponderance was demonstrated (female/male ratio = 6.6). Painful attacks were ultrashort, i.e. virtually all attacks in more than two thirds of cases lasted only one second. ⋯ The localization of painful attacks was reported frequently as unifocal, usually in the orbital area, but also multifocal patterns were observed, the attacks frequently changing location from one area to the next. The majority of attacks occurred spontaneously, and accompanying phenomena were reported only rarely. Indomethacin treatment (75 mg daily) seemed to have a complete or partial effect in most patients treated as such (n = 17).
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Pattern reversal visual evoked potentials were recorded in 71 children with different types of migraine (e.g. migraine with aura, migraine without aura) or tension-type headache and in 19 controls (mean age of both groups 9 years). P100 latencies were comparable in all three groups.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Ketoprofen, paracetamol and placebo in the treatment of episodic tension-type headache.
The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy and tolerability of a single oral dose of ketoprofen 25 mg in comparison with single doses of ketoprofen 2 x 25 mg, paracetamol 500 mg and 1,000 mg, and placebo in the treatment of episodic tension-type headache. The study was conducted as a single centre, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, five-period, within-patient comparative trial in outpatients with episodic tension-type headache according to the International Headache Society's diagnostic criteria. Each patient had to treat five attacks of episodic tension-type headache with a single dose of each of the tested medications with a minimum interval of 72 h between two attacks. ⋯ Neither of the paracetamol groups differed from the placebo group. Only a few adverse events were reported, usually of mild or moderate severity, with no difference between the treatments. Ketoprofen 50 mg may be considered an effective and well tolerated analgesic in the treatment of episodic tension-type headache of moderate or severe intensity.