Improved health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and reduced activity limitations are prime objectives of migraine therapy, but no data on the effect of preventive treatments on these outcomes are available. We monitored changes in HRQOL using the Short Form 36 (SF-36) and headache-related activity limitations using the Migraine Disability Assessment Score (MIDAS) in 141 consecutive migraine without aura patients on prophylaxis. A total of 102 patients completed the 3-month study. Mean (SD) number of headache days/month dropped from 8.0 (3.7) to 5.0 (2.3) (P < 0.001). Mean monthly consumption of acute drugs reduced from 7.4 (3.5) to 4.4 (3.1) (P < 0.001). MIDAS total score reduced (improved) significantly. All SF-36 scale scores increased (improved), most significantly. This first study to assess prospectively the impact of prophylaxis on HRQOL and daily activities in a large series indicates that migraine prophylaxis has the potential to reduce the global burden of migraine on individuals and society.
The main aim of this study is to look for early clinical markers of cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT). As headache represents the major clinical manifestation at presentation we focused our attention on this symptom. We present the preliminary results of a prospective multicentric study that includes cases diagnosed as CVT in the participating centres. We have so far studied 35 patients (5 males and 30 females) from the ages of 18 to 78. The most frequent manifestation was headache (77.1%). It was more frequently localised (66.7%) and continuous (77.8%). The onset of pain was mostly acute-subacute (38.5%-50.0%) and the intensity moderate-severe (37.0%-51.9%). On univariate analysis, we found a positive correlation between CVT, acute headache onset (p=0.001) and severe headache (p=0.004). These preliminary results seem in accordance with our previous findings in the retrospective study, suggesting that CVT is more often associated with acute-onset headache of severe intensity.
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