Duplicate publication.
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Consensus Statements as Topic↗
Biomedical subjects
Curtis Schreiber
Publications and source records attributed to Curtis Schreiber.
Sumatriptan: update and review.
Sumatriptan is the first of a novel class of medications referred to as triptans. Since its approval for migraine in the 1990s, six other triptan products have received FDA approval. Despite the proliferation of triptans, sumatriptan remains the most frequently prescribed product in this therapeutic class. Sumatriptan has been instrumental in defining a biological basis for migraine. It is effective in treating migraine with or without aura, well tolerated and, when properly prescribed, safe. Sumatriptan injection is the only member of the triptan class approved for treatment of cluster headache. Studies with sumatriptan have also advanced the therapeutic intervention paradigm that permits patients to treat earlier and avoid substantial disability. Numerous pharmacoeconomic studies have demonstrated that sumatriptan decreases work loss productivity and improves quality of life.
Animals↗
Cosensitization of pain and psychiatric comorbidity in chronic daily headache.
Chronic migraine occurs in approximately 20% of migraineurs, typically developing over a period of many years. The pathophysiology of this transformation is unknown. However, experts have associated chronic headache with analgesic overuse, physical injury, and psychologic trauma. Research in post-traumatic stress disorder has found that hippocampal sensitivity to stress alters and often amplifies future pain behaviors. Although the most obvious difference between migraine and chronic migraine is the frequency of headaches, this article discusses chronic migraine as a more pervasive neurologic disease in which the patient's neurologic and psychologic function fails to return to a normal baseline. The sensory and affective components of pain are cosensitized, producing other neurologic and psychologic symptoms during and between episodes of headache. A staging paradigm is suggested that defines patients and assesses their overall neurologic function. The goal of this classification is to identify cosensitization early and pinpoint migraine patients who are at risk of developing chronic migraine.
Chronic Disease↗
A randomized trial of frovatriptan for the intermittent prevention of menstrual migraine.
BACKGROUND: Menstrually associated migraine (MAM) is often prolonged and difficult to manage with conventional therapies. Frovatriptan is a new selective 5HT(1B/1D) receptor agonist indicated for short-term management of migraine. It has a long half-life and good tolerability. These characteristics suggest that frovatriptan may be useful for the intermittent prevention of MAM. METHODS: The study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-way crossover design. Patients treated each of three perimenstrual periods (PMPs) with placebo, frovatriptan 2.5 mg QD, and frovatriptan 2.5 mg BID. The 6-day treatment started 2 days before the anticipated start of MAM headache. The primary efficacy endpoint was incidence of MAM headache during the 6-day PMP. RESULTS: The population comprised 546 women (mean age, 37.6 years). Use of frovatriptan reduced the occurrence of MAM headache. The incidence of MAM headache during the 6-day PMP was 67% for placebo, 52% for frovatriptan 2.5 mg QD, and 41% for frovatriptan 2.5 mg BID. Both frovatriptan regimens were superior to placebo (p < 0.0001), and the BID regimen was superior to the QD regimen (p < 0.001). Both frovatriptan regimens also reduced MAM severity (p < 0.0001), duration (p < 0.0001), and the use of rescue medication (p < 0.01 QD; p < 0.0001 BID) in a dose-dependent manner. The incidence and type of adverse events for both regimens were similar to placebo and consistent with those reported for short-term migraine management. CONCLUSION: Frovatriptan given prophylactically for 6 days was effective in reducing the incidence of menstrually associated migraine. More than half of patients who used frovatriptan 2.5 mg BID had no menstrually associated migraine headache during the 6-day perimenstrual period. The findings are consistent with the long duration of action and good tolerability of frovatriptan observed in short-term migraine management.
Adult↗
Primary headaches: a convergence hypothesis.
After reviewing the historic differentiation between migraine and tension-type headache, the authors note that the similarities between these two types of primary headaches outweigh the differences, and so hypothesize that these headaches share a common pathophysiology. The convergence hypothesis for primary headaches links the clinical features of an evolving headache to current pathophysiological models. The authors suggest that successive symptoms experienced clinically reflect an escalating pathophysiological process, beginning with the premonitory period and progressing into tension-type headache and, if uninterrupted, finally into migraine. The clinical manifestations of other headache types, such as so-called sinus headache or temporomandibular headache, may also be explained by this model. A convergence hypothesis for primary headaches has important implications for earlier recognition, diagnosis, and treatment.
Diagnosis, Differential↗