Pain
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Migraine with aura is associated with an increased incidence of stroke and cardiovascular disease, but the biological mechanisms are poorly understood. This study examined the incidence of metabolic syndrome and its relationship to migraine with and without aura and to nonmigraine headache. In the population-based the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT), 19,895 individuals were followed for the development of metabolic syndrome, with a median follow-up time of 11.3 years. ⋯ A moderate risk increase was seen for migraine without aura (IRR 1.26, 95% CI 1.12-1.42) and nonmigraine headache (IRR 1.22, 95% CI 1.13-1.32), not modified by smoking. The results suggest that traditional risk factors may be one of the mechanisms through which migraine with aura is linked to an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. A heightened vigilance concerning cardiovascular risk factors in this patient group may be warranted.
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Comparative Study Controlled Clinical Trial
Diminished neurokinin-1 receptor availability in patients with two forms of chronic visceral pain.
Central sensitization and dysregulation of peripheral substance P and neurokinin-1 receptor (NK-1R) signaling are associated with chronic abdominal pain in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Although positron emission tomography (PET) has demonstrated that patients with injury-related chronic pain have diminished NK-1R availability in the brain, it is unknown whether these deficits are present in IBD and IBS patients, who have etiologically distinct forms of non-injury-related chronic pain. This study's aim was to determine if patients with IBD or IBS exhibit deficits in brain expression of NK-1Rs relative to healthy controls (HCs), the extent to which expression patterns differ across patient populations, and if these patterns differentially relate to clinical parameters. ⋯ BP in a subset of these regions was robustly related to discrete clinical parameters in each patient population. Widespread deficits in NK-1R BP occur in IBD and, to a lesser extent, IBS; however, discrete clinical parameters relate to NK-1R BP in each patient population. This suggests that potential pharmacological interventions that target NK-1R signaling may be most effective for treating distinct symptoms in IBD and IBS.