1,721,245 research outputs found
Inhaled migraine drug therapy: a start of the art therapeutic strategy or just another gimmick?
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Secondary cluster headache due to a contralateral demyelinating periaqueductal gray matter lesion
No full textObjectives/Background: Tension-type headache and migraine without aura are the most common primary headaches occurring in people with demyelinating diseases, whereas cluster headache (CH) can be considered exceptional. The location of demyelinating lesions could be strategic in these cases, involving areas interacting with the trigeminovascular system. Methods and Results: We report a case of a 54-year-old woman with right-sided CH as the initial manifestation of multiple sclerosis and showing a left dorsal brainstem lesion on magnetic resonance imaging, in the region of the dorsal longitudinal fasciculus (DLF). Conclusion: Our case seems to suggest a possible role of the DLF in the process that leads to CH attacks. Because neuroimaging clearly showed a lesion contralateral to CH pain, we hypothesize that some fibers from periaqueductal gray matter project to the contralateral side, besides the known ipsilateral connections
Validity of the international headache society criteria for the diagnosis of temporomandibular joint disorder patients with tension-type headache
No full textNeuromuscular taping in multiple sclerosis. A pilot study
No full textBackground and aim of the work: Neuromuscular Taping (NT) is a relatively new device that induces micro-movements by stimulating receptors in the skin. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of the application of Neuromuscular Taping (NT) on motor performance and quality of life in a cohort of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Methods: Twenty MS patients with Expanded Disability Status Scale ≤ 4 (EDSS); clinically stable disease; absence of relapses during the last 3 months; absence of rehabilitation treatment or symptomatic drugs acting on muscular tone or fatigue for at least 2 months; a stable disease modifying treatment for at least 3 months; were treated with the application of NT. It was applied four times at 4-day intervals on the weakest side of the hamstrings muscles. The treatment efficacy on motor performance was evaluated by the six minute walking test (6MWT), measured at the beginning of treatment (T0), at the end of NT application (T1), and three weeks after the last treatment application (T2). Moreover, Short Form 36 health survey (SF-36) was administered to evaluate the quality of life. Results: The mean distance covered during the 6MWT improved significantly between T0 and the successive T1 and T2 measurements, passing from 342.6±148.9 mt at T0 to 395.8±146.0 mt at T2 (p=0.03). The SF-36 showed a statistically significant improvement in most items. Conclusions: The application of NT was able to improve significantly the motor performance and the quality of life in our small case series of MS patients. © Mattioli 1885
Successful intravenous immunoglobulin treatment in relapsing MOG-antibody-associated disease
No full textTreatment of MOG Ab-associated disease is poorly standardized: several drugs have been employed, with variable results. A 50-year-old Caucasian male was admitted to hospital in 2009, with severe acute transverse myelitis. A brain and spinal cord MRI showed multiple demyelinating lesions and cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed no oligoclonal bands (OCBs). A diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) was made. He was treated with interferon-beta 1a, then with fingolimod, and finally with rituximab. All these treatments were ineffective: he experienced several spinal and brainstem relapses, with residual disability. Finally, an empirical therapy with IVIg was started. Calling into question the diagnosis of MS, we performed anti-MOG test (positive). IVIg therapy was continued and the patient experienced only one mild relapse during a 24-month follow-up. Our patient, with an aggressive and atypical MOG Ab-associated disease, showed a very good response to longterm IVIg treatment
Herpes zoster preceding neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: casual or causal relationship? A systematic literature review
No full textNeuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a severe, inflammatory, immune-mediated astrocytopathy of the central nervous system, characterized by recurrent inflammatory events primarily involving optic nerves and the spinal cord. Recently, a triggering role of infectious events in the development of NMOSD has been suggested. Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is the agent most involved, although the linkage with anti-aquaporin-4 antibodies is so far unknown. A review of the literature on the association between NMOSD and VZV infection was carried out by searching PUBMED and EMBASE from 1975 to July 2020. A total of 13 articles concerning Herpes zoster preceding NMOSD were identified. All patients were female and the median age at NMOSD presentation was 28.5 (range 5–63) years. Four NMOSD cases occurred after chicken pox while the remaining ten after HZ. Full recovery occurred in 5/14 patients. From the review of the literature, we can infer that VZV seems to trigger LETM attacks and not the disease itself. The strict temporal relationship between VZV infection and NMOSD seems to exceed the pure chance and represents an unusual clinical scenario posing several diagnostic and management challenges
Factors associated with pain complaints in a clinical sample of postmenopausal women.
No full textThe aims of this study were to evaluate the relationships occurring between pain complaints and postmenopausal status, and to look at the correlation between such complaints and other symptoms commonly related to the climacterium. A clinical sample of 99 consecutive postmenopausal patients requiring medical help were studied: 36 complained of muscle-skeletal pains whereas 33 presented with headache limiting daily activity. Climacteric syndrome, level of distress, coping style and bone mineral density were assessed with appropriate questionnaires and instruments. Neither bone mineral density, nor body mass index nor time since menopause were associated with either headaches or muscle-skeletal pains. According to the logistic regression being younger, being without a job, suffering from insomnia and having a lower ability in self-support by the means of comforting ideas predicts suffering from headache. A high level of distress and an avoidance behavior to problem facing predict the presence of pain complaints. In such cases the ineffectiveness of the coping mechanism (i.e. avoid the problem) could be the reason for the increased level of psychological distress. These findings indicate that complaining of pains or headache is not dependent upon postmenopausal status. Individual coping strategies and their effectiveness seem the main reasons for the presence of disabling musculoskeletal pains or headache
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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