The journal of headache and pain
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European data, at least from Western Europe, are relatively good on migraine prevalence but less sound for tension-type headache (TTH) and medication-overuse headache (MOH). Evidence on impact of headache disorders is very limited. Eurolight was a data-gathering exercise primarily to inform health policy in the European Union (EU). This manuscript reports personal impact. ⋯ The common headache disorders have very high personal impact in the EU, with important implications for health policy.
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Menstrual migraine without aura (MM) affects approximately 20% of female migraineurs in the general population. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of contraception on the attacks of migraine without aura (MO) in women with MM. ⋯ Amenorrhoea leads to a reduction of MO-frequency in women with MM using hormonal contraceptives. Future prospective studies on MM should focus on contraceptive methods that achieve amenorrhoea.
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According to the third beta edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorder (ICHD-3 beta), the diagnostic criteria for tension-type headache (TTH) might lead to the inclusion of individuals with headaches showing migrainous features. To better define TTH, the alternative diagnostic criteria were proposed in the appendix of ICHD-3 beta. This study attempted to test the alternative criteria for diagnosis of TTH proposed in ICHD-3 beta in a population-based sample from Korea. ⋯ Using the alternative criteria, less than half of the subjects with TTH according to the standard criteria were classified as having TTH. All the subjects with TTH by the alternative criteria were classified as having TTH by the standard criteria. This study also demonstrated that subjects diagnosed with TTH using the standard criteria could include people with headaches showing migrainous features.
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Medical students routinely have triggers, notably stress and irregular sleep, which are typically associated with migraine. We hypothesized that they may be at higher risk to manifest migraine. We aimed to determine the prevalence of migraine among medical students in Kuwait University. ⋯ The prevalence of migraine is higher among medical students in Kuwait University compared to other published studies. The migraine prevalence, frequency and headache severity, all increased in the final two years of education.
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The circle of Willis is an important source of collateral blood flow to maintain adequate cerebral perfusion, particularly in the posterior circulation. Some studies report a relationship between incomplete circle of Willis and migraine, whereas other studies show no difference between the prevalence of incomplete circle of Willis in migraineurs and controls. In the present study we compared the prevalence of incomplete circle of Willis in female migraine patients without aura to female healthy non-migraine controls.Using 3-Tesla magnetic resonance angiography we recorded three-dimensional time-of-flight angiograms in 85 female participants (48 migraine patients without aura [median age 28 years] and 37 healthy controls [median age 25 years]). The images were subsequently analysed blindly by a neuroradiologist to detect incomplete circle of Willis. ⋯ We found no relationship between migraine without aura and incomplete circle of Willis.