Discoveries & Stats

15 April 2005

Migraine and sunlight

Do you live in the far north? What about the far south? You may be interested in the findings of a new study done in Norway, announced at the American Academy of Neurology meeting this week. The discovery was that people who had migraine with aura were more likely to have attacks during the summer "light" months than in the winter "dark" months. Why?

This seems to support the growing theory that the neurons in the brain of a migraineur are hypersensitive. To quote Dr Karl Alstadhaug,"This supports the theory that, in people with migraine, the neurons in the occipital lobe of the brain, which is the part that is the primary site for vision, are hyperexcitable or easier to trigger"

The migraineurs with aura were also more sensitive to light during and even in between attacks. Many wore sunglasses to try to avoid migraine symptoms.

11 April 2005

Are migraines making you dumber?

James Discoveries & Stats 4

If you think migraine attacks are fogging up your brain, take heart. Neurology reported on a study to find out if people with migraine were actually suffering from cognitive damage. In other words, is your power to think and reason and learn decreasing because of migraine symptoms? The answer is, according to this study, no.

The study was done in the country of Denmark with twins. If a twin had migraine, she/he and the other twin were invited in for the study. They were given tests on things like fluency and word recall. These subjects were middle aged, and about 1400 took part. The discovery was, in the words of the report, that "A lifetime diagnosis of migraine was not associated with cognitive deficits in middle-aged subjects." So, if you’re feeling dumb, I guess you can’t blame it on those headaches!

8 April 2005

Botox and CDH

James Discoveries & Stats, Medications 1

A new study published in the Headache journal is suggesting a still wider use for Botox. The makers of Botox, Allergan Inc, sponsored a study using Botox in patients with Chronic Daily Headache and migraine. The controlled study involved 355 patients, about 85% women. Each patient had at least one migraine attack during the trial period, so all of them had migraine with chronic daily headache as well. Patients had a Botox treatment every 90 days for 9 months. The patients that got Botox (rather than a placebo) did seem to get fewer headaches. However, Dr David W. Dodick from the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine (who was involved in the project) warns that results are difficult to interpret. More studies are needed.

There is very little treatment actually designed for those with chronic daily headache. Research in this area as a whole is needed, although the causes no doubt vary from person to person.

21 March 2005

Butterbur for kids

James Discoveries & Stats, Treatments 0

Back in January I told you about the new research on the herb butterbur. A regular dosage of butterbur reduced headache frequency by almost 50%.

Now, butterbur is being tried with children, and the results are encouraging. In this month’s issue of Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, German researchers did a study with children (ages 6 and older) and adolescents. Now the researchers admit that the results of the study may be influenced by the fact that the children knew what they were taking. However, they were encouraged by two factors. First, the butterbur was tolerated well, and second the study results were similar to the studies that have been done with adults (which were controlled).

About 77% of the children in the trial had at least a 50% drop in migraine attacks.

As you probably know, when you buy any herbal formula at the store the ingredients can vary drasticly, and so can the results. So the research team used Petadolex, which is a reliable standardized and safe form of butterbur. The dosages were between 50-150mg per day. Click on the Petadolex link for more on this butterbur extract.

So far, it seems that similar dosages are effective in children, teenagers and adults. Check here for more herbs for headache.

17 March 2005

No-pain clusters?

James Discoveries & Stats 0

You knew that you can have migraine and yet no pain. But did you know that you can have cluster "headaches" without pain too? That was the news from Neurology, in a report from Neurologist Dr Rolf Salvensen in August 2000. The report follows a man who experienced other symptoms of clusters – a stuffed up nose, drooping eyelid, and pupil contraction on one side, and yet no pain.

This is important to know, because first it will help us better diagnose clusters. Second, it will help us better understand them. Many have theorized that the other symptoms are simply a reaction to the pain. Now it seems that this isn’t true – the other symptoms have a life of their own! This is old news now to the neurology world, but clusters themselves are still a mystery being investigated.