Effects of vitamin E on stroke subtypes: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Objective To evaluate the effect of vitamin E supplementation on incident total, ischaemic, and haemorrhagic stroke

Headache, migraine and risk of brain tumors in women: prospective cohort study

Background: While headache is a common symptom among brain tumors patients, often patients with common headache have concerns of being at risk for developing brain tumors. We aimed to disprove that migraine or headache in general is associated with increased risk of developing brain tumors. Methods: Prospective study among 39,534 middle-aged women, free of any cancer, and who provided information on headache history at baseline. We followed participants for occurrence of medical record-confirmed brain tumors. We ran multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models to evaluate associations between any headache, migraine, and non-migraine headache with incident brain tumors. We further evaluated whether migraine frequency and updated headache information during follow-up could be linked with brain tumors. Results: A total of 13,022 (32.9%) women reported headache, of which 5,731 were classified as non-migraine headache and 7,291 as migraine. During a mean follow-up of 15.8 years, 52 brain tumors were confirmed. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) for brain tumors were 1.33 (0.76-2.34) for any headache, 1.18 (0.58-2.41) for migraine and 1.53 (0.75-3.12) for non-migraine headache. The association for any headache was further attenuated in time-varying analyses (1.15; 0.58-2.24). Those who experience migraine six times/year were also not at increased risk of brain tumor (0.67; 0.13-3.32). Conclusions: Results of this large, prospective cohort study in women do not provide evidence that headache in general or migraine in particular are associated with the occurrence of brain tumors. Our data should reassure patients with headache that brain tumor is not a long-term consequence of headache. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s10194-015-0501-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Structural brain lesions and restless legs syndrome: a cross-sectional population-based study

Objective: To evaluate the association between white matter lesion (WML) volume, silent infarcts and restless legs syndrome (RLS) in a population-based study of elderly individuals. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Population-based Three-City study. Participants: 1035 individuals from the Dijon, France, centre of the Three-City study who had available information on volume of WMLs from MRIs and who answered questions about the prevalence of RLS. Primary outcome measure Prevalence of RLS. Results: WML volume was measured using an automated tissue segmentation method. Logistic regression was used to evaluate adjusted associations between tertiles of WML volume and RLS and between silent infarcts and RLS. 218 individuals (21.1%) were determined to have RLS. Compared with those in the first tertile of WML volume, individuals in the second tertile (OR=1.09; 95% CI 0.75 to 1.60) or third tertile (OR=1.17; 95% CI 0.79 to 1.74) did not have an increased prevalence of RLS. We also did not observe associations between the volume of deep or periventricular WML and RLS; nor did we observe an association between silent brain infarcts and RLS (OR=0.74; 95% CI 0.40 to 1.39). These findings were not modified by age or gender. Conclusions: Higher volume of WML and the presence of silent infarcts were not associated with an increased prevalence of RLS in this population-based cohort of elderly individuals

Prospective comorbidity-matched study of Parkinson's disease and risk of mortality among women

Background: Individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) may have an increased risk of overall mortality compared to the general population. Women may have lower mortality rates from PD than men; however, studies among women on the effect of PD on mortality have been limited and may not have adequately controlled for confounding by comorbidities. Methods: We conducted a matched cohort study among participants in the Women's Health Study. 396 incident PD cases were identified through self-report. Each PD case was matched by age to a comparator who was alive and had the same modified Charlson comorbidity score as the PD case. The PD cases and matched comparators were followed for all-cause mortality. Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for age at the index date, smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise and body mass index were used to determine the association between PD and mortality. Results: During a median of 6.2 years of follow-up, 72 women died (47 PD cases and 25 comparators). The multivariable-adjusted HR for mortality was 2.60 (95% CI 1.56 to 4.32). Conclusions: PD was associated with more than a twofold increased risk of all-cause mortality among women. Results are similar to those observed among men

Migraine and cardiovascular disease: systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To evaluate the association between migraine and cardiovascular disease, including stroke, myocardial infarction, and death due to cardiovascular disease

Dementia and dependence: Do modifiable risk factors delay disability?

OBJECTIVE: To identify modifying factors that preserve functional independence among individuals at high dementia risk. METHODS: Health and Retirement Study participants aged 65 years or older without baseline activities of daily living (ADL) limitations (n = 4,922) were interviewed biennially for up to 12 years. Dementia probability, estimated from direct and proxy cognitive assessments, was categorized as low (i.e., normal cognitive function), mild, moderate, or high risk (i.e., very impaired) and used to predict incident ADL limitations (censoring after limitation onset). We assessed multiplicative and additive interactions of dementia category with modifiers (previously self-reported physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, depression, and income) in predicting incident limitations. RESULTS: Smoking, not drinking, and income predicted incident ADL limitations and had larger absolute effects on ADL onset among individuals with high dementia probability than among cognitively normal individuals. Smoking increased the 2-year risk of ADL limitations onset from 9.9% to 14.9% among the lowest dementia probability category and from 32.6% to 42.7% among the highest dementia probability category. Not drinking increased the 2-year risk of ADL limitations onset by 2.1 percentage points among the lowest dementia probability category and 13.2 percentage points among the highest dementia probability category. Low income increased the 2-year risk of ADL limitations onset by 0.4% among the lowest dementia probability category and 12.9% among the highest dementia probability category. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking, not drinking, and low income predict incident dependence even in the context of cognitive impairment. Regardless of cognitive status, reducing these risk factors may improve functional outcomes and delay institutionalization

A genome-wide cross-phenotype meta-analysis of the association of blood pressure with migraine

Blood pressure (BP) was inconsistently associated with migraine and the mechanisms of BP-lowering medications in migraine prophylaxis are unknown. Leveraging large-scale summary statistics for migraine (N-cases/N-controls = 59,674/316,078) and BP (N = 757,601), we find positive genetic correlations of migraine with diastolic BP (DBP, r(g) = 0.11, P = 3.56 x 10(-06)) and systolic BP (SBP, r(g) = 0.06, P = 0.01), but not pulse pressure (PP, r(g) = -0.01, P = 0.75). Cross-trait meta-analysis reveals 14 shared loci (P <= 5 x 10(-08)), nine of which replicate (P < 0.05) in the UK Biobank. Five shared loci (ITGB5, SMG6, ADRA2B, ANKDD1B, and KIAA0040) are reinforced in gene-level analysis and highlight potential mechanisms involving vascular development, endothelial function and calcium homeostasis. Mendelian randomization reveals stronger instrumental estimates of DBP (OR [95% CI] = 1.20 [1.15-1.25]/10 mmHg; P = 5.57 x 10(-25)) on migraine than SBP (1.05 [1.03-1.07]/10 mmHg; P = 2.60 x 10(-07)) and a corresponding opposite effect for PP (0.92 [0.88-0.95]/10 mmHg; P = 3.65 x 10(-07)). These findings support a critical role of DBP in migraine susceptibility and shared biology underlying BP and migraine

Changes in Memory before and after Stroke Differ by Age and Sex, but Not by Race

Post-stroke memory impairment is more common among older adults, women, and blacks. It is unclear whether post-stroke differences reflect differential effects of stroke per se, or differences in pre-stroke functioning. We compare memory trajectories before and after stroke by age, sex and race

A genome-wide cross-phenotype meta-analysis of the association of blood pressure with migraine.

Blood pressure (BP) was inconsistently associated with migraine and the mechanisms of BP-lowering medications in migraine prophylaxis are unknown. Leveraging large-scale summary statistics for migraine (Ncases/Ncontrols = 59,674/316,078) and BP (N = 757,601), we find positive genetic correlations of migraine with diastolic BP (DBP, rg = 0.11, P = 3.56 × 10-06) and systolic BP (SBP, rg = 0.06, P = 0.01), but not pulse pressure (PP, rg = -0.01, P = 0.75). Cross-trait meta-analysis reveals 14 shared loci (P ≤ 5 × 10-08), nine of which replicate (P < 0.05) in the UK Biobank. Five shared loci (ITGB5, SMG6, ADRA2B, ANKDD1B, and KIAA0040) are reinforced in gene-level analysis and highlight potential mechanisms involving vascular development, endothelial function and calcium homeostasis. Mendelian randomization reveals stronger instrumental estimates of DBP (OR [95% CI] = 1.20 [1.15-1.25]/10 mmHg; P = 5.57 × 10-25) on migraine than SBP (1.05 [1.03-1.07]/10 mmHg; P = 2.60 × 10-07) and a corresponding opposite effect for PP (0.92 [0.88-0.95]/10 mmHg; P = 3.65 × 10-07). These findings support a critical role of DBP in migraine susceptibility and shared biology underlying BP and migraine