Migraine headaches in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS): Comparison of two prospective cross-sectional studies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Headaches are more frequent in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) than healthy control (HC) subjects. The 2004 International Headache Society (IHS) criteria were used to define CFS headache phenotypes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Subjects in Cohort 1 (HC = 368; CFS = 203) completed questionnaires about many diverse symptoms by giving nominal (yes/no) answers. Cohort 2 (HC = 21; CFS = 67) had more focused evaluations. They scored symptom severities on 0 to 4 anchored ordinal scales, and had structured headache evaluations. All subjects had history and physical examinations; assessments for exclusion criteria; questionnaires about CFS related symptoms (0 to 4 scale), Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) and Medical Outcome Survey Short Form 36 (MOS SF-36).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Demographics, trends for the number of diffuse "functional" symptoms present, and severity of CFS case designation criteria symptoms were equivalent between CFS subjects in Cohorts 1 and 2. HC had significantly fewer symptoms, lower MFI and higher SF-36 domain scores than CFS in both cohorts. Migraine headaches were found in 84%, and tension-type headaches in 81% of Cohort 2 CFS. This compared to 5% and 45%, respectively, in HC. The CFS group had migraine without aura (60%; MO; CFS+MO), with aura (24%; CFS+MA), tension headaches only (12%), or no headaches (4%). Co-morbid tension and migraine headaches were found in 67% of CFS. CFS+MA had higher severity scores than CFS+MO for the sum of scores for poor memory, dizziness, balance, and numbness ("Neuro-construct", p = 0.002) and perceived heart rhythm disturbances, palpitations and noncardiac chest pain ("Cardio-construct"; p = 0.045, t-tests after Bonferroni corrections). CFS+MO subjects had lower pressure-induced pain thresholds (2.36 kg [1.95-2.78; 95% C.I.] n = 40) and a higher prevalence of fibromyalgia (47%; 1990 criteria) compared to HC (5.23 kg [3.95-6.52] n = 20; and 0%, respectively). Sumatriptan was beneficial for 13 out of 14 newly diagnosed CFS migraine subjects.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>CFS subjects had higher prevalences of MO and MA than HC, suggesting that mechanisms of migraine pathogenesis such as central sensitization may contribute to CFS pathophysiology.</p> <p>Clinical Trial Registration</p> <p>Georgetown University IRB # 2006-481</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00810329">NCT00810329</a></p

Migraine in Gulf War Illness and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Prevalence, potential mechanisms, and evaluation

Objective: To assess the prevalence of headache subtypes in Gulf War Illness and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome compared to controls. Background: Migraines are reported in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Approximately, 25% of the military personnel who served in the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War have developed Gulf War Illness (GWI). Symptoms in GWI share considerable overlap with CFS, including headache complaints. The type and prevalence of headaches in GWI have not been adequately assessed.Methods: 50 GWI, 39 CFS and 45 controls were examined. Participants had structured headache evaluations based on the 2004 International Headache Society criteria. All subjects had history and physical examinations, measurements of systemic hyperalgesia (dolorimetry), assessments for exclusionary indicators, fatigue and symptom related questionnaires. Results: Migraines were detected in 64% of GWI (odds ratio, 11.6, [&#177;95% CI, 4.1 to 32.5]) and 82% of CFS subjects (odds ratio, 22.5, [&#177;95% CI, 7.8 to 64.8]) compared to only 13% of controls. There was a predominance of females in the CFS compared to GWI and controls. However, gender did not influence migraine status (x2= 2.7; P = 0.101). Measures of fatigue, pain, and other ancillary criteria were comparable between GWI and CFS subjects with and without headache. Conclusion: Results validate previous findings of migraine in CFS and confirms similar increased prevalence in GWI compared to controls. This suggests GWI and CFS subjects share pathophysiological mechanisms that underlie migraine attacks and contribute to the extensive overlap of symptom constructs and disease pathophysiology. The high migraine prevalence warrants the inclusion of a structured headache evaluation that coincides with clinical assessments of GWI and CFS diagnosis