The journal of headache and pain
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Paresthesia-free cervical 10 kHz spinal cord stimulation (HF10 SCS) may constitute a novel treatment modality for headache disorders, when pharmacological approaches fail. We report the results of a retrospective analysis assessing the long-term safety, tolerability and efficacy of HF10 SCS in a group of patients with chronic refractory primary headache disorders. ⋯ Paresthesia-free high cervical HF10 SCS appears to be a long-term safe and likely effective therapeutic approach for patients with chronic refractory primary headache disorders. These results warrant further prospective studies in larger series of patients.
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The study was a collaboration between Lifting The Burden (LTB) and the European Headache Federation (EHF). Its aim was to evaluate the implementation of quality indicators for headache care Europe-wide in specialist headache centres (level-3 according to the EHF/LTB standard). ⋯ This first Europe-wide quality study showed that the quality indicators were workable in specialist care. They demonstrated common trends, producing evidence of what is majority practice. They also uncovered deficits that might be remedied in order to improve quality. They offer the means of setting benchmarks against which service quality may be judged. The next step is to take the evaluation process into non-specialist care (EHF/LTB levels 1 and 2).
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The aim of the study was to validation of the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia for Temporomandibular Disorders (TSK-TMD) for use in patients with painful TMD. ⋯ These findings show that the Chinese version of TSK-TMD has satisfactory psychometric properties and is appropriate for use in patients with painful TMD in China.
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Caffeine has both excitatory and vasoconstrictive effects on central nervous system. Caffeine use might be associated with development and chronification of migraine. We aimed to evaluate the effect of caffeine cessation on the acute treatment of migraine. ⋯ Caffeine abstinence is associated with better efficacy of acute migraine treatment. Our uncontrolled study results encourage a further confirmatory study on this issue.
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Dopaminergic pathways could be involved in the pathophysiology of myofascial temporomandibular disorders (M-TMD). This study investigated plasma levels of dopamine and serotonin (5-HT) in patients with M-TMD and in healthy subjects. ⋯ The results suggest that peripheral dopamine might be involved in modulating peripheral pain. This finding, in addition to reports in other studies, suggests that dopaminergic pathways could be implicated in the pathophysiology of M-TMD but also in other chronic pain conditions. More research is warranted to elucidate the role of peripheral dopamine in the pathophysiology of chronic pain.