Correlation Between Life Events and Quality of Life in Patients with Medication-Overuse Headache

Introduction: The present study aimed to determine (a) the correlation between type and number of stressful life events and quality of life in patients with medication-overuse headache (MOH) and (b) whether stressful life events could be attributed to medication overuse and the conversion of headache to a chronic type. Methods: The present study included 114 patients aged between 15 and 65 years who met the criteria for headache classification of International Headache Society (IHS). The patients were divided into three groups according to the revised 2004 IHS classification; MOH (n= 64), chronic migraine (n=25) and episodic migraine (n=25). Detailed data on clinical and sociodemographic characteristics were recorded. Neurological and physical examinations were performed for differential diagnosis. The patients underwent structured clinical interviews for DSM-IV Inventory (SCID-I), Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Short Form-36 (SF-36) and Life Events List. Scores of these inventories were statistically compared. Results: Comparing MOH group with episodic migraine group via SF36, statistically significant decreases were observed in the subscales of physical role limitation (p=.024), pain (p=.0001), general health (p=.043) and social functioning (p=.004). There was a statistically significant correlation between the number of life events and the time the disease became chronic in the patient group with non-MOH chronic migraine (p=.027). Moreover, a statistically significant correlation was observed between stressful family life events and the body pain subscale of quality of life scale (p=.038). Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that stressful life events impair quality of life in patients with MOH. It was also found that number of stressful life events could be attributed to the conversion of headache to a chronic type

Spontaneous intra.cerebral hemorrhage: A retrospective study of risk factors and outcome in a Turkish population

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Stroke, which remains the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer in developed countries, is a disorder causing permanent neurologic disability. Even though, hemorrhagic strokes are seen less than the ischemic type, they are more fatal. We studied the risk factors for spontaneous intra-cerebral hemorrhage (ICH) to direct the proper preventive treatment modalities and the effects of these factors on mortality as well as applied therapeutic strategies on survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The archive records of 106 patients (60 male, 46 female) who were diagnosed with spontaneous ICH in Baskent University Hospital, Ankara, between January 2003 and September 2008, were assessed retrospectively. RESULTS: The mean age was found as 62.5. The most frequent risk factor was hypertension (73.5%); 69.2% of these hypertensive patients had uncontrolled blood pressure levels. The mortality rate was detected as 34.9% and patients were found to die approximately within 9 days after ICH. Older age, increased hemorrhage volume, ventricular extension of hemorrhage, and the presence of midline shift were found to significantly correlate with increased mortality (P < 0.05). Patients who underwent surgical therapy showed a longer survival rate (P = 0.016); however, no association was found between medical and surgical therapy in terms of mortality (P = 0.555). CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that effective control of blood pressure is important in the prevention of spontaneous ICH; clinical and radiological findings with treatment modalities influencing mortality should be carefully managed

Evaluation of Relationship Between Childhood Maltreatment and Medication Overuse Headache

Introduction: We aimed to evaluate the prevalence and relationship between childhood maltreatment (CMT) among patients with medication overuse headache (MOH) and to investigate whether CMT is associated with medication overuse in patients having headaches or with headaches that become chronic. Epidemiological studies report a relationship between childhood abuse and headache. There is growing knowledge about the evidence that childhood maltreatment leads to neurobiological sequel. Medication overuse is the most important problem for migraine to become chronic. But in the literature, there was no information about the role of childhood abuse in MOH and for migraine to become chronic. Methods: A total of 116 patients with headache, aged from 15 to 65 years, were included in the study. Patients having chronic migraine (CM), MOH and episodic migraine (EM) were selected out of patients presented to the headache outpatient clinic. Types of headache were determined according to the revised International Headache Society (IHS) criteria published in 2004. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory were performed. Presence of psychiatric co-morbidities was evaluated by a clinician using Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the Fourth Edition. Results: A total of 116 patients with headache were included in the study. Of patients, 64 had MOH, 25 had CM and 27 had EM. The prevalence of CMT, particularly emotional neglect (62%), physical neglect (44%) and emotional abuse (36.2%), was determined higher in all headache groups. There was no statistically significant difference in prevalence of childhood maltreatment between MOH, CM and EM groups. No statistically significant difference was detected between educational status, psychiatric co-morbidities and childhood trauma, except for physical neglect. Conclusion: Childhood maltreatment was observed in MOH as in other forms of migraine and headache. However, no significant difference was observed between the three groups of patients with headache

Evaluation of brain perfusion in Alzheimer disease with perfusion computed tomography and comparison to elderly patient without dementia

Background/aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate perfusion computed tomography (PCT) findings in patients with Alzheimer disease and to compare them with those of patients without dementia. Materials and methods: PCT was performed in 35 patients: 20 with Alzheimer disease (mean age, 69.7 +/- 5.5 years) and 15 control subjects (mean age, 67.5 +/- 3.5 years). Control subjects were elderly individuals with no cognitive problems who were admitted with headaches. All PCT examinations were performed on a 4-slice CT unit. The PCT analysis software program was used to calculate regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV), regional time-to-peak (rTTP) values in the bilateral frontal, temporal, and occipital cortices, and bilateral lentiform nucleus. Results: rCBF values in the bilateral frontal and temporal cortices and bilateral lentiform nucleus were significantly lower in the patients with Alzheimer disease than in the control subjects. There were no significant differences in rCBV values between Alzheimer disease and the control group. rTTP values in all cortical areas and bilateral lentiform nucleus were significantly higher in the patients with Alzheimer disease than in the control subjects. Conclusion: PCT is a rapid and reliable imaging modality for evaluating brain perfusion in Alzheimer disease

If Neurologists Establish The Diagnosis of Primary Sjogren's Syndrome?

Introduction: Neurological involvements were shown in 20% of patients with Primary Sjogren's Syndrome (pSS). Neurological symptoms may be the first signs of pSS in 57% of the cases. In addition, early diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders may save or improve the quality of life of these cases. There have been reports about the neurologic manifestations of pSS but little is known about the details of neurologically presented cases. Method: In this study, we described 11 pSS patients who presented with neurological manifestations. Results: Central nervous system (CNS) involvement was recorded in 7 (63.7%) and peripheric nervous system (PNS) involvement in 4 cases (36.4%). Conclusion: Our findings regarding the cases with neurological manifestations leading to the diagnosis of pSS suggest that 1) The frequency of CNS involvement was higher than that of PNS, and the most frequent clinical pictures of CNS involvement are Multiple Sclerosis (MS)-like illnesses and optic neuritis, 2) Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) was the most frequent disease of PNS involvement; 3) Mononeuropathy multiplex (MM) might be the first sign of pSS; 41 Neurologists should consider pSS in the differential diagnosis of cases with MS, optic neuritis, GBS and neuropathies of unknown causes including MM; 51 There is an urgent need of therapeutical guidelines for the cases with neurological involvement associated with pSS

Therapeutic Plasma Exchange in Neurologic Diseases: An Experience with 91 Patients in Seven Years

Introduction: In this study, we report the results of our experience of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) for neuroimmunologic disorders performed at our hospital over a seven-year period. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 91 patients (53 male, 38 female) who had been treated at our center with TPE. Results: 60 patients with Guillain-BarrS syndrome (GBS), 23 with myasthenia gravis (MG), 4 with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) and 1 patient each with polymyositis, septic encephalopathy, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) and Opsoclonus-Myoclonus syndrome (OMS) received TPE. 26.7% of GBS patient's made complete recovery, 61.7% had partial recovery and 11.7% patients died due to respiratory failure. Despite our best efforts and effective TPE treatments, 13.4% of MG patients deceased, however, 78% had full recovery. Three patients with CIDP were discharged with full and 1 patient with partial recovery. The patient with ADEM had partial recovery with TPE at first, but deceased 2 months later due to pneumonia-related respiratory insufficiency. While, patient with polymyositis had slight-partial recovery, we obtained full recovery with TPE in septic encephalopathy and OMS patients. The side effects and complications of treatments with TPE, which included hypotension, hypocalcaemia and anemia, were mild and manageable. Conclusion: The improvement rates were encouraging and we concluded that significant benefit can be achieved with TPE for the treatment of neuroimmunological disorders

Gender influences headache characteristics with increasing age in migraine patients

Background and aims Migraine headache is one of the most common primary headache disorders and is three times more prevalent in women than in men, especially during the reproductive ages. The neurobiological basis of the female dominance has been partly established. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of gender on the headache manifestations in migraine patients

Let's raise the awareness of MS specialists concerning the frequency and impact of RLS in MS and consequently the life quality of patients with MS: Striking results of the 'RELOMS-T' Study

70th Annual Meeting of the American-Academy-of-Neurology (AAN) -- APR 21-27, 2018 -- Los Angeles, CAWOS: 000453090800408Amer Acad Neuro