Migraine-associated risks and comorbidity

Sex-Specific Association of Cardiovascular Risk Factors With Migraine: The Population-Based Rotterdam Study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Although several lines of evidence suggest a link between migraine and cardiovascular events, less is known about the association between cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) and migraine. This knowledge is clinically important to provide directions on mitigating the cardiovascular risk in patients with migraine. We hypothesized that CVRFs are associated with a higher migraine prevalence. Therefore, our primary objective was to investigate sex-specific associations between CVRFs and lifetime prevalence of migraine.

METHODS

We performed cross-sectional analyses within an ongoing population-based cohort study (Rotterdam Study), including middle-aged and elderly individuals. By means of (structured) interviews, physical examinations, and blood sampling, we obtained information on the lifetime prevalence of migraine and the following traditional CVRFs: current smoking, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. Similarly, we obtained information on quantitative component data on these CVRFs, including pack-years of smoking, lipid levels, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), body mass index, and fasting glucose levels. Patients with migraine were age-matched to individuals without migraine, and we performed conditional logistic regression analyses to investigate the sex-stratified association of CVRFs with migraine.

RESULTS

In total, 7,266 community-dwelling middle-aged and elderly persons were included (median age 66.6 [IQR 56.4-74.8] years, 57.5% females). The lifetime prevalence of migraine was 14.9%. In females, current smoking (odds ratio (OR) 0.72, 95% CI 0.58-0.90), more pack-years (OR per SD increase 0.91, 95% CI 0.84-1.00), diabetes mellitus (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.56-0.98), and higher fasting glucose levels (OR per SD increase in glucose 0.90, 95% CI 0.82 - 0.98) were all related to a lower migraine prevalence while a higher diastolic BP related to a higher migraine prevalence (OR per SD increase 1.16, 95% CI 1.04-1.29). In males, no significant associations between CVRFs and migraine were observed.

DISCUSSION

Traditional CVRFs were either unrelated or inversely related to migraine in middle-aged and elderly individuals, but only in females. In males, we did not find any association between CVRFs and migraine. Because only an increased diastolic BP was related to a higher migraine prevalence in females, our study contributes to the hypothesis that migraine is not directly associated with traditional CVRFs. Future studies are warranted to extrapolate these findings to younger populations.

Nomogram for Postoperative Headache in Adult Patients Undergoing Elective Cardiac Surgery

Background Postoperative headache (POH) is frequent after cardiac surgery; however, few studies on risk factors for POH exist. The aims of the current study were to explore risk factors related to POH after elective cardiac surgery and to establish a predictive system. Methods and Results Adult patients undergoing elective open-heart surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass from 2016 to 2020 in 4 cardiac centers were retrospectively included. Two thirds of the patients were randomly allocated to a training set and one third to a validation set. Predictors for POH were selected by univariate and multivariate analysis. POH developed in 3154 of the 13 440 included patients (23.5%) and the overall mortality rate was 2.3%. Eight independent risk factors for POH after elective cardiac surgery were identified, including female sex, younger age, smoking history, chronic headache history, hypertension, lower left ventricular ejection fraction, longer cardiopulmonary bypass time, and more intraoperative transfusion of red blood cells. A nomogram based on the multivariate model was constructed, with reasonable calibration and discrimination, and was well validated. Decision curve analysis revealed good clinical utility. Finally, 3 risk intervals were divided to better facilitate clinical application. Conclusions A nomogram model for POH after elective cardiac surgery was developed and validated using 8 predictors, which may have potential application value in clinical risk assessment, decision-making, and individualized treatment associated with POH.

Predictors and nomogram models for postoperative headache in patients undergoing heart valve surgery

Background

Headache is a frequent complication after cardiac surgery. However, studies on the risk factors of postoperative headache (POH) are rare. The purpose of this study was to identify independent risk factors for POH in patients undergoing heart valve surgery (HVS) and to develop and validate risk prediction models.

Methods

Consecutive patients undergoing open HVS from 2016 to 2019 were enrolled in this study. Patients were randomly assigned to training and validation sets at a 2:1 ratio. Univariate and multivariate analysis were applied to identify independent predictors for POH in the training set. A nomogram predicting POH was developed based on these factors, and was validated in the independent validation set.

Results

POH developed in 1,061 of the 3,853 patients (27.5%). The overall mortality was 2.9%, and it was significantly higher in patients with POH (4.3% versus 2.4%, P<0.001). In the training set, six independent predictors were identified by multivariate analysis, including female, smoking history, hypertension, headache history, left ventricular ejection fraction, and cardiopulmonary bypass time. The model demonstrated good discrimination in both the training (c-index: 0.811) and validation sets (c-index: 0.814), and calibration was assessed by visual inspection. A second nomogram was also constructed including only preoperative predictors, with good discrimination (c-index: 0.792) and calibration. The decision and clinical impact curves of the models showed good clinical utility.

Conclusions

We developed and validated two risk prediction models for POH in patients undergoing HVS. The models may have clinical utility in individualized risk assessment and preventive interventions.

Lasmiditan in patients with common migraine comorbidities: a post hoc efficacy and safety analysis of two phase 3 randomized clinical trials

OBJECTIVE

Determine whether common migraine comorbidities affect the efficacy and safety of lasmiditan, a 5-HT_1F receptor agonist approved in the United States for the acute treatment of migraine.

METHODS

In SPARTAN and SAMURAI (double-blind Phase 3 clinical trials), patients with migraine were randomized to oral lasmiditan 50 mg (SPARTAN only), 100mg, 200 mg, or placebo. Lasmiditan increased the proportion of pain-free and most bothersome symptom (MBS)-free patients at 2 h after dose compared with placebo. Most common treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were dizziness, paraesthesia, somnolence, fatigue, nausea, muscular weakness, and hypoesthesia. Based upon literature review of common migraine comorbidities, Anxiety, Allergy, Bronchial, Cardiac, Depression, Fatigue, Gastrointestinal, Hormonal, Musculoskeletal/Pain, Neurological, Obesity, Sleep, and Vascular Comorbidity Groups were created. Using pooled results, efficacy and TEAEs were assessed to compare patients with or without a given common migraine comorbidity. To compare treatment groups, p-values were calculated for treatment-by-subgroup interaction, based on logistic regression with treatment-by-comorbidity condition status (Yes/No) as the interaction term; study, treatment group, and comorbidity condition status (Yes/No) were covariates. Differential treatment effect based upon comorbidity status was also examined. Trial registration at clinicaltrials.gov: SAMURAI (NCT02439320) and SPARTAN (NCT02605174).

RESULTS

Across all the Comorbidity Groups, with the potential exception of fatigue, treatment-by-subgroup interaction analyses did not provide evidence of a lasmiditan-driven lasmiditan versus placebo differential treatment effect dependent on Yes versus No comorbidity subgroup for either efficacy or TEAE assessments.

CONCLUSIONS

The efficacy and safety of lasmiditan for treatment of individual migraine attacks appear to be independent of comorbid conditions.

Migraine and the risk of incident hypertension among women

Background Few studies have examined whether migraine is associated with an increased risk of incident hypertension. Methods We performed a prospective cohort study among 29,040 women without hypertension at baseline. Women were classified as having active migraine with aura, active migraine without aura, a past history of migraine, or no history of migraine. Incident hypertension was defined as new physician diagnosis or newly self-reported systolic or diastolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg or ≥90 mmHg respectively. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the association between migraine and incident hypertension. Results During a mean follow-up of 12.2 years, 15,176 incident hypertension cases occurred. Compared to those with no history of migraine, women who experience migraine with aura had a 9% increase in their risk of developing hypertension (95% CI: 1.02, 1.18); women who experience migraine without aura had a 21% increase in their risk of developing hypertension (95% CI: 1.14, 1.28); and women with a past history of migraine had a 15% increase in their risk of developing hypertension (95% CI: 1.07, 1.23). Conclusions Women with migraine have a higher relative risk of developing hypertension compared to women without migraine.

Population-based approaches to genetics of migraine

BACKGROUND

While the most accurate diagnosis of migraine typically requires a clinical interview guided by strict diagnostic criteria, an alternative approach that ascertains migraine by questionnaire in population-based settings has been instrumental in the discovery of common genetic variants influencing migraine risk. This result may be surprising. Population-based approaches are often criticized for limited ability to distinguish migraine from other forms of primary headache. It is thus useful to revisit prevailing ideas about population-based ascertainment of migraine to evaluate the extent to which this approach has potential for additional insights into migraine genetics and therefore pathophysiology.

OVERVIEW

We review recent findings suggesting that the success of the population-based approach is derived from the possibility of collecting much larger samples than in the clinic-based setting even at the risk of introducing phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity. The findings are also consistent with new appreciations for the genetic basis of many other common, complex clinical characteristics. However, clinic-based ascertainment and other settings will remain more effective than population-based approaches for investigating certain, often very specific aspects of migraine genetics.

CONCLUSION

We argue that the detailed genetic architecture of migraine, various aspects of methodology, and the ultimate sample size achieved by population-based ascertainment will be critical determinants of the future success of this approach to genetic analysis of migraine and its comorbidities.

Migraine genetics: current findings and future lines of research

In the last two decades, migraine research has greatly advanced our current knowledge of the genetic contributions and the pathophysiology of this common and debilitating disorder. Nonetheless, this knowledge still needs to grow further and to translate into more effective treatments. To date, several genes involved in syndromic and monogenic forms of migraine have been identified, allowing the generation of animal models which have significantly contributed to current knowledge of the mechanisms underlying these rare forms of migraine. Common forms of migraine are instead posing a greater challenge, as they may most often stem from complex interactions between multiple common genetic variants, with environmental triggers. This paper reviews our current understanding of migraine genetics, moving from syndromic and monogenic forms to oligogenic/polygenic migraines most recently addressed with some success through genome-wide association studies. Methodological issues in study design and future perspectives opened by biomarker research will also be briefly addressed.

Migraine and breast cancer risk: a prospective cohort study and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The evidence for an association between migraine and breast cancer risk is inconclusive. While female sex hormones have been proposed as one underlying mechanism, data on sex hormone levels in migraineurs are sparse.

METHODS

We prospectively evaluated the association between migraine and breast cancer risk among 115378 Nurses' Health Study II participants using Cox proportional hazards models. Differences in endogenous sex hormone levels according to migraine status were assessed among 2034 premenopausal women using linear regression. We performed a meta-analysis of studies investigating the association between migraine and invasive breast cancer risk published through October 2013. All statistical tests were two-sided.

RESULTS

Seventeen thousand six hundred ninety-six women (15.3%) reported a physician's diagnosis of migraine at baseline. Over 20 years of follow-up, 833 in situ and 3091 invasive breast malignancies occurred. Migraine was not associated with total (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.88 to 1.04), in situ (HR = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.82 to 1.15), or invasive breast cancer risk (HR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.87 to 1.04). Endogenous sex hormone levels did not differ according to migraine status. In the meta-analysis, migraine was associated with a lower risk of breast cancer overall (pooled risk ratio [RR] = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.73 to 0.98). However, this inverse association was apparent only among case-control studies (pooled RR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.66 to 0.79), and not among cohort studies (pooled RR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.87 to 1.10).

CONCLUSION

In this large cohort study, migraine was not associated with breast cancer risk or differences in endogenous sex hormone levels. While case-control studies suggest an inverse association between migraine and breast cancer risk, prospective cohort studies do not support an association in pooled analyses.

[Integrated headache care network. Kiel Migraine and Headache Center and German National Headache Treatment Network]

Migraine and other headaches affect 54 million people in Germany. They rank among the ten most severely disabling complaints and the three most expensive neurological disorders. Nevertheless, they are not adequately recognized in the healthcare system with sketchy diagnoses and inadequate treatment. This inadequate care is not primarily due to a lack of medical and scientific knowledge on the development and treatment of headaches but is predominantly due to organizational deficits in the healthcare system and in the implementation of current knowledge. To overcome the organizational barriers the national headache treatment network was initiated in Germany. For the first time it allows national cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary links between inpatient and outpatient care. A hand in hand treatment programme, better education, better information exchange between all partners and combined efforts using clearly defined treatment pathways and goals are the basis for state of the art and efficient treatment results. The treatment network is geared towards the specialized treatment of severely affected patients with chronic headache disorders. A national network of outpatient and inpatient pain therapists in both practices and hospitals works hand in hand to optimally alleviate pain in a comprehensive cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary manner. For therapy refractive disorders, a high-intensive supraregional fully inpatient treatment can be arranged. This concept offers for the first time a nationwide coordinated treatment without limitation by specialization and bureaucratic remuneration sectors.

Burden of migraine: international perspectives

The newly released version of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD 2010) ranks migraine between the most disabling diseases, the first among neurological ones, with a two-fold increase with respect to the previous GBD 2000 version. Almost 3 % of worldwide disability attributable to a specific disease, in terms of years lived with a disability, is due to migraine. The public health impact of migraine and headache disorders is thus a consolidated fact; however, further research is needed to provide stronger recognition of and policy actions for headache disorders in general, and in particular with regard to chronic forms of headache.

Cardiovascular disease risk in women with migraine

Background

Studies suggest a higher prevalence of unfavourable cardiovascular risk factors amongst migraineurs, but results have been conflicting. The aim of this study was to investigate traditional and newly recognized risk factors as well as other surrogate markers of cardiovascular risk in obese and normal weight women with migraine.

Methods

Fifty-nine adult female probands participated in this case–control study. The sample was divided into normal weight and obese migraineurs and age- and body mass index-matched control groups. The following cardiovascular risk factors were analyzed: serum levels of lipids, fasting glucose, and insulin; insulin resistance; blood pressure; smoking (categorized as current, past or never); Framingham 10-year risk of general cardiovascular disease score; C-reactive protein; family history of cardiovascular disease; physical activity; sleep disturbances; depression; and bioelectrical impedance phase angle. The means of continuous variables were compared using Student’s t-test for independent samples or the Mann–Whitney U-test (for 2 groups) and ANOVA or the Kruskal-Wallis test (for 4 groups) depending on the distribution of data.

Results

All migraineurs were sedentary irrespective of nutritional status. Migraineurs had higher depression scores and shorter sleep duration, and obese migraineurs, in particular, had worse sleep quality scores. Insulin resistance and insulinaemia were associated with obesity, and obese migraineurs had lower HDL-c than normal weight controls and migraineurs. Also, the Framingham risk score was higher in obese migraineurs.

Conclusion

These findings suggest that female migraineurs experience marked inactivity, depression, and some sleep disturbance, that higher insulin resistance and insulinaemia are related to obesity, and that obesity and migraine probably exert overlapping effects on HDL-c levels and Framingham 10-year cardiovascular risk.

Migraine and allergy: a review and clinical update

Migraine and allergy are both common diseases. Many patients suffer from both, and the vast majority of patients with "sinus headache" complaints are found to have migraine, making migraine identification important to allergists. This review addresses the possibility that allergy and migraine are comorbid conditions, focusing on epidemiology, shared biochemical pathways, and underlying mechanisms. Therapeutic implications of this possible relationship have been the subject of several recent studies, making a review of this association timely and prudent.

Epigenetic mechanisms in migraine: a promising avenue?

Migraine is a disabling common brain disorder typically characterized by attacks of severe headache and associated with autonomic and neurological symptoms. Its etiology is far from resolved. This review will focus on evidence that epigenetic mechanisms play an important role in disease etiology. Epigenetics comprise both DNA methylation and post-translational modifications of the tails of histone proteins, affecting chromatin structure and gene expression. Besides playing a role in establishing cellular and developmental stage-specific regulation of gene expression, epigenetic processes are also important for programming lasting cellular responses to environmental signals. Epigenetic mechanisms may explain how non-genetic endogenous and exogenous factors such as female sex hormones, stress hormones and inflammation trigger may modulate attack frequency. Developing drugs that specifically target epigenetic mechanisms may open up exciting new avenues for the prophylactic treatment of migraine.

Migraine and restless legs syndrome in men

BACKGROUND

Previous studies suggest an association between migraine and restless legs syndrome (RLS). Population-based data, however, have been limited to women. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between migraine and RLS in a male cohort.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study among 22,926 participants in the Physicians' Health Study. Migraine and RLS information was self-reported. RLS was classified according to four minimal diagnostic criteria. Age- and multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models were calculated.

RESULTS

Of the 22,926 participants (mean age 67.8), 2816 (12.3%) reported migraine and 1717 (7.5%) RLS. Migraine was associated with an increased multivariable-adjusted odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval (CI)) of 1.20 (1.04-1.38) for having RLS. The association remained stable after excluding men with potential mimics of RLS and was not modified by age.

CONCLUSIONS

Results of our study indicate an association between migraine and RLS in men. The magnitude of effect is similar to what has been reported in women.

[Migraine myths]

Migraine is the most frequent cause of headache in patients seeking medical advice. Even ophthalmologists are frequently confronted with this diagnosis. In many cases a diagnosis can be easily established by a targeted patient history. Accompanying symptoms deserve attention, especially the aura which often leads patients directly to the ophthalmologist. Concerning migraine therapy well-established guidelines exist but despite this many patients remain undiagnosed and inadequately treated. Many myths and half-truths are associated with migraine headache. This article aims to give an overview for ophthalmologists.

Migraine and cardiovascular disease

Migraine, especially migraine with aura is an established risk factor for ischemic lesions of the brain. Recent evidence has also linked migraine with and without aura to a broader range of ischemic vascular disorders including angina, myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization, claudication and cardiovascular mortality. The topic is therefore of considerable interest. Accordingly, herein we review the association between migraine and cardiovascular disease. We start by briefly presenting diagnostic criteria for migraine and revising its pathophysiology. We follow by summarizing the evidence on the topic. We then briefly present the results of a recent meta-analysis. We close by highlighting results of a large epidemiological study conducted after the publication of the meta-analysis.

Triptan persistency among newly initiated users in a pharmacy claims database

Objective

Our study was conducted to describe prescription refill patterns among patients newly treated with triptans.

Background

Although triptans are efficacious in treating migraine headache, the persistency of triptan use among newly initiated users has not been well described.

Methods

From a US pharmacy claims database, we identified patients receiving new triptan monotherapy prescriptions from 2001 to 2005. Prescription refill information was gathered for two years for each patient. Persistency was defined as sustained refills of the index triptan prescription, regardless of duration between refills.

Results

Of 40,892 patients receiving a new triptan prescription, 53.8% (N=22031) did not persistently refill their index triptan. Of these, 25.5% discontinued prescription migraine therapy, 7.4% switched to a different triptan, and 67.1% switched to a non-triptan migraine medication at the time of their first refill. Only 46.2% of patients received at least one persistent refill.

Conclusions

Migraine patients were more likely to discontinue their triptan after their index prescription than at any other time in their prescription refill history. The majority of patients did not persistently refill triptans, but filled prescriptions for non-specific migraine therapies such as opioids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Reasons for triptan discontinuation warrant further investigation.

Association of the pentanucleotide repeat polymorphism in NOS2 promoter region with susceptibility to migraine in a Chinese population

Genes involved in the production of nitric oxide (NO) have been suggested as genetic factors for migraine. It has been studied whether polymorphisms in the genes encoding for different types of NO synthase (NOS) could be involved in the liability to migraine; however, most studies yield negative results. The pentanucleotide repeat microsatellite in the promoter region of inducible NOS (NOS2) shows highly significant differences in allelic frequencies among ethnically diverse populations. Thus, variation in the number of pentanucleotide repeats may have some significance in the predisposition to migraine among different human populations. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible association between pentanucleotide repeat polymorphism and the risk for migraine in Chinese population. We studied the genotypic and allelic frequencies of the pentanucleotide repeat polymorphism in the promoter region of NOS2 in 504 patients with migraine and 512 healthy controls, using polymerase chain reaction amplification and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analyses. Comparison of global allele counts between patients and controls showed that the difference was significant (p = 0.0014). The carriage of 9-repeat and 10-repeat alleles was significantly more common in controls, whereas 11-repeat allele was more common in patients after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. A specific analysis of the different cutoffs for number of repeats showed that allelic and genotypic frequencies for the 9-repeat and 10-repeat cutoff were significantly different between cases and controls (p = 0.007 and p = 0.005 for allelic frequencies, respectively; p = 0.0086 and p = 0.0033 for genotypic frequencies, respectively). Our results implied an association between NOS2 pentanucleotide repeat polymorphism and migraine susceptibility in a Chinese population. Considering the significant allelic frequency differences in ethnically diverse populations, further replication studies, especially in ethnically different groups, were necessary to fully establish the role of NOS2 polymorphism in migraine susceptibility.

Prevention of medication overuse in patients with migraine

This multi-center study compared the therapeutic effect of a cognitive-behavioral minimal contact program (MCT) to the effect of a brochure (bibliotherapy) for the prevention of medication overuse headache (MOH) in migraine patients. Seven German headache centers recruited 182 migraine patients with high triptan or analgesic intake frequency. Patients were randomly allocated to either the MCT-group, receiving both an MCT program and an educational brochure or to the biblio-group receiving only the brochure. All participants continued usual medical treatment. Course of headaches, intake of analgesics or triptans after training, 3 months post-training as well as 1-2 years (mean 15.7 months) later and psychological variables were defined as outcome variables. A significant decline was observed in the number of headache days (11.0-8.8), migraine days (7.3-5.7) and medication intake days (7.4-6.1) from pre to post in the MCT-group (p<0.001 each) and in the biblio-group (p<0.001 each). The pre-to-post-improvements were maintained from pre- to short- and from pre- to long-term follow-up (p<0.001 each) in both groups. Both groups improved significantly from pre to post in psychological variables, e.g. pain acceptance: p<0.001; pain catastrophizing: p<0.001; functional pain coping: p<0.001; and pain related internal control beliefs: p<0.01. Psychological improvements remained stable in both groups at short- and long-term follow-up. During the study, none of the patients developed an MOH. MCT- and bibliotherapy are useful in migraine patients to prevent medication overuse headache or the transition of episodic to chronic headache.

Cardiovascular risk factors associated with migraine among the elderly with a low income: The São Paulo Ageing & Health Study (SPAH)

Background: To investigate the association between cardiovascular risk-factor profile and migraine in the elderly, we evaluated a population sample of ageing men and women (65 years or more) living in a low-income area in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.

Patients and Methods: We investigated migraine status and cardiovascular profile from a baseline of 1450 participants (65–102 years of age) of the São Paulo Ageing & Health Study (SPAH), a longitudinal population-based study with low-income elderly in Brazil. The following age and sex-adjusted cardiovascular risk factors were analyzed: blood pressure, pulse pressure, serum total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, body mass index, smoking, history of hypertension, diabetes and the 10-year risk of myocardial infarction or coronary heart disease death based on the Framingham Risk Score.

Results: The overall prevalence of migraine was 11.4%, and it was 3 times more frequent among women than men (15.3% vs 5.4%; P < 0.0001). Migraineurs were younger than non-migraineurs (mean age 70.6 years vs 72.1 years; P = 0.001, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference regarding the cardiovascular risk-factor profile after adjustment for age and sex among migraineurs and non-migraineurs. Only a decrease in the risk of hypertension among women (OR 0.58; 95% CI 0.38–0.90; P = 0.01) was also observed even after adjustment for age.

Conclusions: Overall, we did not find a worse cardiovascular risk profile among elderly migraineurs. An inverse association between hypertension and migraine in women warrants further investigation.

On the methodology of drug trials in migraine with aura

INTRODUCTION

Specific problems occur in clinical treatment trials for migraine with aura that differ from those encountered in treatment trials for migraine without aura.

DISCUSSION

Based on our experience with four such trials, we point to a number of possible solutions and outline areas for future inquiry. We make recommendations about subject selection; the choice, definition and assessment of outcome measures; optimal treatments in relation to aura and headache; and we provide samples of study report forms used to record occurrence of aura and headache in this population.

Vagus nerve stimulation in drug-resistant daily chronic migraine with depression: preliminary data

Drug refractory chronic daily headache (CDH) is a highly disabling condition. CDH is usually regarded as the negative evolution of chronic migraine (CM) and is characterized by high prevalence of psychiatric disorders, especially mood disorders. Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) is an established treatment option for selected patients with medically refractory epilepsy and depression. Neurobiological similarities suggest that VNS could be useful in the treatment of drug-refractory CM associated with depression. The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of VNS in patients suffering from drug-refractory CM and depressive disorder. We selected four female patients, mean age 53 (range 43-65 years), suffering from daily headache and drug-refractory CM. Neurological examination and neuroradiological investigations were unremarkable. Exclusion criteria were psychosis, heart and lung diseases. The preliminary results in our small case series support a beneficial effect of chronic VNS on both drug-refractory CM and depression, and suggest this novel treatment as a valid alternative for this otherwise intractable and highly disabling condition.

Migraine: an endemic disease inside the blood–brain barrier

Migraine is a complex neurological disorder that in recent years has received more and more attention. Knowledge regarding this primary headache has increased substantially, both with respect to its pathogenesis and how to effectively treat its symptoms. Over the years, the proposed location of the onset of migraine has moved from the periphery of the nervous system toward deeper parts of the brain. Migraine can be viewed as an inherited failure of trigeminal sensory processing with abnormal neuronal excitability in the trigeminal nucleus caudalis, which, in turn, causes central sensitization and amplification of the pain. Increased activation of the trigeminal nerve during a migraine attack causes release of the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inside and outside the BBB. Within the CNS, CGRP promotes trigeminal sensory input and facilitates central sensitization. The future introduction of CGRP antagonists in clinical practice could represent significant progress for acute migraine therapy.