European journal of neurology : the official journal of the European Federation of Neurological Societies
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Identification of the trigger factors of headache could be an important aspect of preventive management, but the characteristics of primary headache triggers in China are unknown. This study was performed to estimate the frequencies of the putative headache triggers, which are endorsed by patients with migraine and tension-type headache (TTH). ⋯ Trigger factors were frequent among both migraine and TTH patients. Avoidance of all headache triggers is impractical. Learning to cope with triggers is important to headache prevention.
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Poor sleep is commonly associated with alterations in pain perception. However, there is a lack of studies that address work-associated sleep restriction (SR) and changes in non-nociceptive perception and autonomic responses after work-induced SR. ⋯ The effects of SR in the context of work stress on pain are specific and appear unrelated to general changes in sensory perception. Hyperalgesia was associated with abnormal autonomic responses, but not with increased anxiety, which suggests an association between the nociceptive and autonomic nervous systems that is independent of the emotional state.
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Pre-existing brain infarct (PBI), frequently seen on magnetic resonance imaging and usually silent, is recognized as a risk factor for future stroke. Increased apolipoprotein B (apoB)/apoAI ratio is known to be a risk predictor of ischaemic stroke and is associated with intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS). However, little is known about the association of apoB/apoAI ratio with PBI. ⋯ ApoB/apoAI ratio is associated with asymptomatic deep subcortical ischaemic burden as well as with symptomatic lesion in patients with ICAS.
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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterized by rapidly progressive paralysis of striated muscles due to the loss of upper and lower motor neurons. The disease leads to death within 2-5 years, mainly due to respiratory failure. The pathogenesis of ALS is still unexplained for the most part. In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of different cardiovascular, metabolic, and neuropsychiatric comorbidities in a large ALS cohort and to evaluate their influence on the disease course. ⋯ Persons with cardiovascular diseases or risk factors seem to be at lower risk of ALS. Although these diseases are apparently somehow protective regarding ALS susceptibility, their presence did not modify disease progression and survival in patients with ALS. Our study further confirms the well-known continuum between ALS and dementia. It also suggests a link with other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease.