Discoveries & Stats

18 February 2008

Simple surgery for chronic headache

Photo courtesy of allspice1

A simple surgery is being researched that may bring significant relief to those suffering from chronic headaches. The small trial showed an increase in "quality of life" of 250% over 12 months.

The study involved 42 women and 13 men with chronic migraine. What was done? Certain superficial blood vessels on the scalp were cauterized (sealed off). That’s it. The side effects of the surgery? Temporary numbness. It sounds like it would be rather worth it.

Dr Elliot Shevel of South Africa, Professor Carlo Cianchetti of Italy and Dr Egilius Spierings of the United States are working together to do further studies on this technique.

Shevel, founder and chairman of the South African Headache Society, is also a maxillo-facial and oral surgeon. He explains how he discovered the treatment: "During the first operation I was doing on a patient’s jaw she had a pounding headache and the carotid artery on the temple was pulsing. When I blocked off the artery to the temple with my finger, the pain went away. When I took my finger off, it came back. I knew that I could cut the artery with no side effects and offered to cauterise it."

Now both South African and Italian governments have thrown in their support for future research. Though the surgery may not help everyone with chronic headache, it could be a major breakthrough for those with symptoms that are very difficult to treat.

via Surgery cures lucky headache victims

20 November 2007

New research on migraine brains

James Discoveries & Stats 0

The next time someone calls you "thick headed", don’t be so offended. New research says that migraine sufferers may be a little thick headed.

Ok, stop throwing things at your computer screen – let’s get serious. New research is showing that the somatosensory cortex (SSC) area of the brain seems to be thicker in migrainuers. The study out of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and is being published today in the online edition of Neurology.

Though this story is being plastered all over the news this morning, it really doesn’t tell us a lot. There is a lot of evidence that the brains of migraine patients are different. Yes, this may lead us to more specific answers. But at this point we don’t even know if the SSC is thicker because of migraine attacks (most of these patients had been having severe attacks since childhood), or if the migraine attacks are a result of the thickened SSC.

Now researchers are planning a larger study to find out. The results may help identify people who are predisposed to migraine, or help develop more treatments.

Whatever is discovered, this is more evidence at least of a physical problem. Yes, there are still people that think migraine is an imagined illness. However, it will be a while before this line of research really tells us much that will be a help.

But that’s the nature of good research, isn’t it? While news media tries to find some instant significance in the latest study, the rest of us will keep an eye on it, and learn patience.

To learn more, read the official press release, or check out this helpful article from the BBC – Migraine brains ‘are different’.

17 November 2007

Memantine for migraine

James Discoveries & Stats 1

Memantine is technically a moderate affinity NMDA-receptor antagonist used for Alzheimer patients to improve memory. It’s available in the USA, Europe, Mexico, and some countries in South America. It’s sold as Axura, Akatinol, Namenda and Ebixa.

Memantine is now being used "off label" for both migraine and tension headache. In the case of migraine, it may be that the drug blocks the waves of electrical activity (cortical spreading depression – CSD) that spread across the brain during an attack. In a study published in the Journal of Headache and Pain, 66% of patients found significant relief after taking the drug. It was a small study, but it sounds hopeful.

The study into CSD has an interesting side note. Studying mice, it was found that it was far easier to trigger CSD in females than in males. Since the "estrous cycle" was not taken into consideration in the study, it may be that this difference, if it holds true in humans, is not related to the menstrual cycle.

So the reason why women get more migraines than men may be a lot more complex than hormones.

Read more here – Why Women Get More Migraines Than Men from California’s UCLA.

Can mice tell us anything about why women get migraine?
Photo courtesy of beijinglaoda

21 September 2007

Migraine and memory loss

James Discoveries & Stats 0

How does migraine – or the underlying cause of migraine – impact memory? Being a neurological condition, there are often related symptoms – such as clumsiness, aphasia, restlessness, confusion, and difficulty speaking. But how migraine may affect memory, either during an attack or over the long term, is little known.

Interestingly, transient global amnesia (TGA) has been linked to migraine. TGA is a mysterious illness where, suddenly but only for a time, a patient has difficulty remembering recent events and has increased trouble retaining new information. It usually lasts a few hours.

According to Dr. Roy Sucholeiki (Medical Director of the Comprehensive Seizure and Epilepsy Program at The Neurosciences Institute at Central DuPage Hospital), migraine may be a related factor. A 1989 study found that 25% of those who had TGA also had a history of migraine. That’s a high percentage, considering that there are more male sufferers of TGA, and men are less prone to migraine.

TGA usually occurs in the middle-aged or elderly. It’s sometimes preceded by headache and nausea (two common migraine symptoms). How might migraine be involved? And might migraine contribute to other memory problems? I think it’s likely. What’s your opinion?

Thanks to Mind Hacks for the heads up on this topic.

11 September 2007

Men with migraine

James Discoveries & Stats, Tips 0

A week ago the National Headache Foundation in the USA came out with a new statistic about men and migraine. It took me a while to figure out what they were saying in the press release (see press releases here), but I think I have a handle on it now. To quote:

Despite the long-held belief that migraine headache is only a “woman’s disease,” a recent online survey conducted by the National Headache Foundation (NHF) revealed that men who were diagnosed with headache were most often diagnosed with migraine headaches (36%).

So basically when men actually go to the doctor complaining of a headache, the most common diagnosis is headache due to migraine.

This doesn’t take away from the fact that women seem to be more prone to to migraine attacks than men. But what it does say is that men do get migraine (so that’s why I was stuck in my bed from early afternoon yesterday until this morning!), and perhaps more often than is commonly believed. The press release suggests that men may be reluctant to go to the doctor because of a symptom as "minor" as a headache. And so it may be hard to come up with exact stats. It’s probable about 5-8% of men live with migraine – that’s about 1 in 15 – pretty significant!

Well, men, there are some good reasons to get to the doctor. First, a headache can be a sign of something serious. Second, there may be a solution – and you might be able to be a lot more productive by getting rid of that nasty symptom.

Have you ever heard the saying,"Women get sick, and men die?" The point is, women take care of themselves, go to the doctor, get treatment, and often have improved health as a result. Men stick it out, try not to complain, don’t get treatment, and die sooner.

Think about it.