Headache
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This study aimed to determine the characteristics and significance of a probable diagnostic entity for primary headache disorder (PHD). ⋯ A probable diagnosis was given to 21.3% of the first-visit PHD patients due to incomplete or atypical presentations of the headaches. The incorporation of a probable diagnosis into the ICHD-3β may be useful for reducing the diagnoses of unspecified headaches.
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Review Historical Article
Vagus Nerve and Vagus Nerve Stimulation, a Comprehensive Review: Part II.
The development of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) began in the 19th century. Although it did not work well initially, it introduced the idea that led to many VNS-related animal studies for seizure control. In the 1990s, with the success of several early clinical trials, VNS was approved for the treatment of refractory epilepsy, and later for the refractory depression. ⋯ Non-invasive transcutaneous devices, which stimulate auricular VN or carotid VN, are also undergoing clinical trials for treatment of epilepsy, pain, headache, and others. Noninvasive VNS (nVNS) exhibits greater safety profiles and seems similarly effective to their invasive counterpart. In this review, we discuss the history and development of VNS, as well as recent progress in invasive and nVNS.
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Direct and Indirect Costs of Chronic and Episodic Migraine in the United States: A Web-Based Survey.
The objective of this study was to compare the societal direct and indirect costs of chronic and episodic migraine in the United States. ⋯ The results of this study build on previous results of the AMPP Study, demonstrating that headache-related direct, indirect, and total costs are significantly greater among individuals with chronic migraine than with episodic migraine in the United States.
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To examine headache and depression over time in individuals who sustained mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Prevalence of headache and depression early after mTBI and at 1 year postinjury as well as the relationship between the two are evaluated. ⋯ While prevalence of headache is consistently high over the first year after injury, rate of depression increased over the first year for those who were followed. Given the high rate of comorbidity, those with headache may develop depression over time. Evaluation for possible depression in those with headache after mTBI should be conducted to address both conditions over the year following injury.
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A new form of headache, Headache attributed to aeroplane travel (AH), has been recognized within the International Classification of Headache Disorders 3 beta (ICHD-3beta). In 8 out of 85 AH cases we identified the coexistence of a headache with identical features of AH, but appearing during the rapid descent by car from a high mountain. Pain began shortly after the rapid descent from a medium altitude of 1920 m above sea level, the maximum peak of intensity developing within a few minutes. All of the patients reported the disappearance of pain within 20 minutes of the rapid descent. ⋯ Headache attacks sharing the same features and occurring in three distinct conditions of pressure variations (aeroplane travel, rapid altitude mountain descent, snorkelling, or scuba diving) have already been reported, although the last two only anecdotally. If confirmed by further case series, they could be gathered together in a unique heading: Headache attributed to imbalance between intrasinusal and external air pressure within the 10th chapter: Headache attributed to disorders of the homoeostasis.