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Biomedical subjects

J Olesen

Publications and source records attributed to J Olesen.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

Exteroceptive suppression of temporal muscle activity is normal in chronic tension-type headache and not related to actual headache state.

The aim of the present study was to compare the late exteroceptive suppression period (ES2) of temporalis muscle activity between patients with chronic tension-type headache and healthy controls, and to investigate the influence, if any, of actual headache on ES2. ES2 was recorded in 55 patients and in 55 controls with a previously evaluated methodology and analysed by a blinded observer. The first 20 patients were randomly studied on 2 additional days, 1 day with and 1 day without headache. The duration of ES2 did not differ between patients and controls and did not differ on days with headache compared with days without headache. ES2 duration was not related to the frequency of headache, headache intensity, age, pericranial muscle tenderness or electrical pain threshold. Our results strongly indicate that ES2 is normal in chronic tension-type headache and therefore may not be related to the pathophysiology of this disorder.

Adult↗

311C90 (Zolmitriptan), a novel centrally and peripheral acting oral 5-hydroxytryptamine-1D agonist: a comparison of its absorption during a migraine attack and in a migraine-free period.

The oral absorption of a 10-mg oral dose of the novel 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT1D) agonist, 311C90, was compared during a moderate or severe migraine headache and in a migraine-free period in an open, two-period study. The safety and efficacy of 311C90 in acute migraine were also assessed. Twenty patients attended the clinics during a moderate or severe migraine attack and 18 patients returned for a second dose in a migraine-free period. 311C90 was less rapidly absorbed during a migraine attack compared to the migraine-free period, consistent with gastric stasis during a migraine attach. The median area under the curve (AUC) was 15.7 ng/mlh lower during a migraine (median AUC: 18.4 ng/ml.h, range: 0-60.8 ng/ml.h) compared to the migraine-free period (median AUC: 33.4 ng/ml.h, range 9.4-79.5 ng/ml.h) (95% confidence interval: 6.9, 25.3) and the time to reach maximum plasma concentration was delayed (n = 18). Eleven out of 20 patients experienced a significant improvement in migraine headache intensity at 2 h post-dose. Plasma 311C90 concentrations were generally higher in those patients who responded to treatment with 311C90 in the plasma, but there was one patient with no quantifiable 311C90 in the plasma whose headache improved. Minor adverse experiences were reported in 11 out of 20 patients during a migraine attack and in 11 out of 18 patients outside an attack. They occurred shortly following drug administration and were of short duration, but their occurrence did not appear to be related to plasma 311C90 concentration. There were no clinically significant changes in blood pressure or 12-lead ECG during the assessment period.

Adolescent↗

Migraine without aura and migraine with aura are inherited disorders.

The familial occurrence and mode of inheritance were analysed in families with migraine without aura (MO) and migraine with aura (MA). The probands were found among 4000 persons from the general population. All persons with MA were included as probands, and an equivalent number of probands with MO was selected as a random sample among those with MO. Spouses and first-degree relatives were blindly interviewed. All interviews were performed by one neurological research fellow. The distinct familial patterns indicate that MO and MA have a different aetiology. Compared with the general population, the first-degree relatives of probands with MO had a 1.9-fold increased risk of MO while spouses had a 1.5-fold increased risk of MO, indicating that both genetic and environmental factors are important in MO. The first-degree relatives of probands with MA had a four-fold increased risk of MA while spouses had no increased risk of MA, indicating that MA is determined largely by genetic factors. The complex segregation analysis indicated that both MO and MA have multifactorial inheritance without generational difference.

Adolescent↗

The International Headache Society classification of chronic daily and near-daily headaches: a critique of the criticism.

The classification of the International Headache Society (IHS) published in 1988 has been positively received throughout the world. However, the classification of headaches occurring daily or almost daily has been criticized repeatedly. This criticisim is discussed in the present review. It is possible to classify virtually all chronic headache patients using the IHS Classification and there seems to be more need for emphasizing a correct application of the classification than for a revision in this regard. The entity of transformed migraine is disputed and so is the existence of hemicrania continua. Neither of these syndromes has been adequately defined nor studied. Chronic daily headache of sudden onset (new persistent daily headache) is not adequately classified at present and should be included as a separate entity in the next edition of the IHS Classification. In a future revision it should also be possible to classify drug-related headache simply on the basis of drug consumption and without mandatory demands for withdrawal. Better longitudinal studies of patients with chronic daily headache are necessary to evaluate finally whether a revision of the classification of these headache syndromes is necessary. Eventually the ongoing discovery of migraine genes is likely to change radically the classification of migraine.

Chronic Disease↗

Headache induced by a nitric oxide donor (nitroglycerin) responds to sumatriptan. A human model for development of migraine drugs.

Experimental "vascular" headache in humans may be used in characterizing new migraine drugs. The effects of sumatriptan on nitroglycerin-(NTG)-induced headache and arterial responses were therefore studied. Following a double-blind randomized crossover design, 10 healthy volunteers received sumatriptan 6 mg s.c. or placebo succeeded by 20 min NTG (0.12 microgram/kg/min) infusion. Headache was rated on a 10 points scale. Temporal and radial artery diameters and velocity in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) were measured with ultrasound. Sumatriptan reduced the NTG-induced headache, median score 1.5 versus 4 after placebo (p < 0.01) and decreased temporal and radial artery diameters 75 +/- 3 and 86 +/- 3% of baseline respectively (p < 0.05). Blood velocity in the MCA was unaffected. The NTG model may prove to be a valuable tool in the development of future migraine drugs. The results suggest that NTG headache in non-migraineurs may share mechanisms with migraine headache.

Adult↗

Migrainous disorder and its relation to migraine without aura and migraine with aura. A genetic epidemiological study.

Migrainous disorder was analysed in a large population-based study of 4000 forty-year-old males and females. All interviews were conducted by one physician and the diagnostic criteria of the International Headache Society were used. Of the 48 people with migrainous disorder, 40 had migrainous disorder without aura and 9 had migrainous disorder with aura. One person had co-occurrence of migrainous disorder with and without aura. The lifetime prevalence of migrainous disorder was 2.5% with a male:female ratio of 1:1.2. The first-degree relatives of probands with migrainous disorder were blindly interviewed. Compared with the general population, first-degree relatives of probands with migrainous disorder without aura had a slightly but less increased risk of migraine without aura than first-degree relatives of probands with migraine without aura. First-degree relatives of probands with migrainous disorder with aura had no increased risk of migraine with aura. We conclude that migrainous disorder without aura in some people is a type of migraine without aura and in other people not. Migrainous disorder with aura may be unrelated to migraine with aura.

Adult↗

Alniditan in the acute treatment of migraine attacks: a subcutaneous dose-finding study. Subcutaneous Alniditan Study Group.

Alniditan is a new 5HT1D receptor agonist, belonging to a different chemical class from sumatriptan and other indole derivatives used or being developed for the treatment of acute migraine. In a multinational double-blind randomized parallel-groups dose-finding trial, alniditan was given subcutaneously in hospital to patients with migraine headache of moderate or severe intensity at doses of 0.8 mg (n = 44), 1.0 mg (n = 42), 1.2 mg (n = 46) and 1.4 mg (n = 39). Efficacy, tolerability and safety of each dose were compared with those of placebo (n = 41). At 2 h after injection, headache was absent or mild in 83% and 82% of patients receiving alniditan 1.2 and 1.4 mg respectively compared with 39% for placebo (p < or = 0.002). Complete relief from headache was achieved in 72% (1.4 mg). Time to onset of relief decreased with increasing alniditan dose, and there was a dose-dependent reduction in headache recurrence rate: 25% of patients receiving 1.4 mg had responded by 15 min and headache recurred within 24 h in only 16% of the patients who initially responded to alniditan 1.4 mg, significantly less than for placebo (p = 0.018). Alniditan was superior to placebo in reducing the associated symptoms of nausea, phonophobia and photophobia, and in increasing patients' functional ability. The use of rescue medication was reduced when compared with placebo, and up to 87% of patients said that they would use the drug again if available. No clinically relevant cardiovascular effects were seen, nor consistent changes in clinical laboratory findings. Adverse effects, mainly head pressure, paraesthesia, and hot flushes, were reported by 34% of placebo-treated patients and up to 70% of patients receiving alniditan, but all doses were very well tolerated and no clear relationship with dose was established. Comparison with published findings suggests that alniditan 1.4 mg sc may have advantages over sumatriptan 6 mg sc in providing complete relief from acute migraine headache, and may be associated with fewer headache recurrences within 24 h. Both of these suggestions warrant further and larger trials of alniditan in acute migraine.

Adult↗

Histamine inhalation is a specific but insensitive laboratory test for migraine.

Migraine is a subjective complaint and no laboratory test has until now been of value. The aim of the present study is to evaluate whether histamine inhalation may be used as a diagnostic test for migraine. In a double-blind study design, 15 migraineurs and 15 control subjects scored headache intensity and characteristics before, during, and in the subsequent 12 h after inhalation of increasing doses of histamine (0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 mg/ml). During the histamine inhalations, headaches increased dose-dependently in both groups. Eleven of the migraineurs and eight of the healthy controls experienced headaches after the inhalations. These headaches fulfilled the IHS criteria for migraine without aura in six of the migraineurs, but in none of the control subjects. Using this as a test parameter, the specificity of the test was 1, but the sensitivity was only 0.4. Our results indicate that histamine inhalation is a specific but insensitive laboratory test for migraine. Migraineurs should be informed about the risk of a migraine attack being provoked before histamine inhalation in pulmonary laboratories.

Administration, Inhalation↗

A nosographic analysis of the migraine aura in a general population.

The study presented here is the first detailed nosographic analysis of migraine aura, diagnosed using the criteria of the International Headache Society, in a sufficiently large sample for statistical analysis. Of 4,000 people, 163 had migraine with aura. Sixty-two had attacks of migraine aura with headache as well as migraine aura without headache, and seven had exclusively migraine aura without headache. Visual symptoms were most frequent (99%), followed by sensory (31%), aphasic (18%) and motor (6%) symptoms. Those with several types of aura symptoms had visual aura in virtually every attack, while sensory, motor and aphasic aura were present only in a small number of their attacks. The typical visual aura starts as a flickering, uncoloured, zig-zag line in the centre of the visual field and affect the central vision. It gradually progresses towards the periphery of one hemifield and often leaves a scotoma. The typical sensory aura is unilateral, starts in the hand, progresses towards the arm and then affects the face and tongue. The typical motor aura is half-sided and affects the hand and arm. The visual, sensory and aphasic auras rarely lasted > 1 h, while the motor aura did in 67% (six out of nine). Four people had exclusively acute onset visual aura. The duration of the aura and the characteristics of the ensuing headache were typical for migraine with aura, suggesting that acute onset aura is a real phenomenon. Headache followed the aura in 93%, headache and aura occurred simultaneously in 4% and aura followed headache in 3%. The characteristic spread of each symptom and the sequence of different symptoms suggest that cortical spreading depression is the mechanism underlying the migraine aura. Our results do not suggest that alterations of the diagnostic criteria of the International Headache Society are needed. The intra-individual variation of aura symptoms shown in this study indicates that a simplification of the International Classification of Diseases, Neurological Adaptation is appropriate.

Adult↗

Serial MRI, VEP, SEP and biotesiometry in acute optic neuritis: value of baseline results to predict the development of new lesions at one year follow up.

INTRODUCTION: In an attempt to establish the value of MRI, VEP, SEP, and biotesiometry in monitoring disease evolution we undertook a one year follow up study of 70 untreated patients with acute optic neuritis (ON). MATERIAL & METHODS: ON was monosymptomatic in 48 patients (bilateral in 10) and part of clinically definite multiple sclerosis (CDMS) in 22 patients, examined as mentioned below. RESULTS: Results are given at onset and at follow up (in brackets). In monosymptomatic ON, brain MRI was abnormal in 53% (53%), VEP in the eye with acute ON in 79% (71%), VEP in the clinically unaffected eye in 34% (47%), SEP in 25% (23%), and biotesiometry in 29% (17%). In CDMS, brain MRI was abnormal in 95% (95%), VEP in the eye with acute ON in 86% (77%), VEP in the clinically unaffected eye in 50% (64%), SEP in 55% (50%), and biotesiometry in 63% (53%). Only minor changes in test scores were observed after one year except for significant improvement of VEP in eyes with acute ON. Eight of 32 patients, characterized by at least one abnormal paraclinical test at onset of monosymptomatic ON, had developed CDMS versus none of 16 patients with normal paraclinical results (p = 0.03; Fisher). CONCLUSION: Patients with monosymptomatic ON with paraclinical signs of multifocal involvement at onset had an increased risk of developing CDMS. No single test predicted the evolution of CDMS, perhaps due to the relatively short follow up time.

Acute Disease↗

A non-selective (amitriptyline), but not a selective (citalopram), serotonin reuptake inhibitor is effective in the prophylactic treatment of chronic tension-type headache.

OBJECTIVES: Although the tricyclic antidepressant amitriptyline is extensively used in the prophylactic treatment of chronic tension-type headache, only few studies have investigated the efficacy of this treatment and the results are contradictory. In addition, the new selective serotonin reuptake inhibiting antidepressants, which are widely used in depression and of potential value in pain management, have never been investigated in a placebo controlled study of tension-type headache. The aim was to evaluate the efficacy of amitriptyline and of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram in chronic tension-type headache. METHODS: Forty non-depressed patients with chronic tension type headache were included in a 32 week, double blind, placebo controlled, three-way crossover study. RESULTS: Thirty four patients completed the trial. Amitriptyline reduced area under the headache curve by 30% compared with placebo (P = 0.002), whereas citalopram had no significant effect (P = 0.68). Explanatory analyses showed that amitriptyline significantly reduced the duration of headache (P = 0.01), headache frequency (P = 0.01), and intake of analgesics (P = 0.02) but not headache intensity (P = 0.12). CONCLUSION: Although amitriptyline did not eliminate the headache, it provided a clinically important reduction of headache in the majority of otherwise treatment resistant patients. The differential effect of amitriptyline and citalopram indicates that mechanisms other than inhibition of serotonin reuptake are involved in the analgesic effect of the tricyclic antidepressants. Amitriptyline, but not citalopram, is valuable in the prophylactic treatment of chronic tension type headache.

Adolescent↗

Amitriptyline, a combined serotonin and noradrenaline re-uptake inhibitor, reduces exteroceptive suppression of temporal muscle activity in patients with chronic tension-type headache.

Although reflexes in human jaw muscles have been extensively studied, the neurotransmitters involved in the regulation of these reflexes are not well known. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether amitriptyline, a combined serotonin and noradrenaline re-uptake inhibitor, modulates the late exteroceptive suppression period (ES2) of temporal muscle activity in chronic tension-type headache. ES2 was recorded with a previously evaluated method and assessed by a blinded observer in 35 patients with chronic tension-type headache. Thereafter, ES2 was recorded in 27 of these patients during a double-blind, placebo-controlled, 3-way crossover trial investigating the prophylactic effect of amitriptyline, the selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor citalopram, and placebo. ES2 duration was significantly shorter during treatment with amitriptyline than during placebo, P = 0.02, while ES2 duration only tended to be shorter during treatment with citalopram, P = 0.34. ES2 was not significantly correlated to the prophylactic effect of amitriptyline or to a range of clinical and experimental pain parameters. Our results demonstrate that amitriptyline reduces ES2 and indicate that ES2 is modulated by serotonergic as well as noradrenergic neuronal pathways.

Adult↗

Acute unilateral papillitis versus retrobulbar neuritis: relation to multiple sclerosis.

Prospectively referred patients with unilateral acute optic neuritis (ON) (n = 223; aged 12-57; 158 women), either idiopathic or part of clinically definite multiple sclerosis (CDMS), were systematically examined by the same physician. We analysed whether the 161 patients with retrobulbar neuritis and the 62 patients with papillitis differed from each other clinically or according to paraclinical tests. The following characteristics were observed in retrobulbar ON respectively papillitis: median age 33 and 33 years, women 70% and 73%, clinically definite MS 30% and 27%. Abnormal results in retrobulbar ON and in papillitis (indicated in brackets) did not differ significantly and were found as follows: cerebral MRI in 56% (63%), VEP from the eye with acute ON in 82% (88%), VEP from the eye without acute ON in 38% (33%), SEP from median nerves in 9% (10%), SEP from tibial nerves in 22% (22%) and biotesiometry in 32% (27%). In the CSF, oligoclonal bands were present in 42% (53%), increased IgG-index in 40% (44%) and increased leucocyte count in 39% (29%). The HLA-DRI5 tissue type was present in 47% (43%). There were no significant differences between retrobulbar ON and papillitis when the idiopathic cases and cases with clinically definite MS were analysed separately. Our data document that unilateral retrobulbar ON and papillitis are both part of the MS spectrum and not different from each other with regard to clinical and paraclinical parameters, indicating that the two groups can be pooled in future treatment trials.

Acute Disease↗

Increased familial risk and evidence of genetic factor in migraine.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate familial occurrence of migraine with and without aura. DESIGN: Familial occurrence of migraine with and without aura among first degree relatives and spouses of probands with migraine with or without aura and those who had never had migraine. All interviews of first degree relatives and spouses were done blindly by a neurological resident. The operational diagnostic criteria of the International Headache Society were used. SETTING: General population from Copenhagen County. SUBJECTS: The 378 probands had 1109 first degree relatives and 229 spouses. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patterns of familial aggregation of migraine with and without aura as assessed by calculation of the population relative risk. RESULTS: Compared with the general population the first degree relatives of probands with migraine without aura had 1.9 times the risk of migraine without aura and 1.4 times the risk of migraine with aura. The first degree relatives of probands with migraine with aura had nearly four times the risk of migraine with aura and no increased risk of migraine without aura. The first degree relatives of probands who had never had migraine had no increased risk of migraine either with or without aura. Spouses of probands with migraine without aura had 1.4 times the risk of migraine without aura whereas spouses of probands with migraine with aura had no increased risk of migraine with aura. CONCLUSION: The different familial patterns indicate that migraine without aura and migraine with aura have a different aetiology. Migraine without aura seems to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors whereas migraine with aura is probably determined largely or exclusively by genetic factors.

Adolescent↗

Histamine induces migraine via the H1-receptor. Support for the NO hypothesis of migraine.

In primates, histamine activates cerebral endothelial H1-receptors leading to formation of nitric oxide (NO). Twenty migraine patients received pretreatment with placebo or the histamine-H1-receptor antagonist, mepyramine, in a randomized, double blind fashion, followed in both groups by i.v. histamine (0.5 microgram kg-1 min-1 for 20 min). Headache characteristics were subsequently observed for 12 h. In patients given placebo histamine caused immediate headache during the infusion followed by a delayed migraine attack fulfilling IHS criteria for migraine without aura. The temporal profile of induced headache was exactly the same as after glyceryl trinitrate. Mepyramine pretreatment abolished both immediate headache and delayed migraine attacks. Our results suggest that a migraine attack can be caused by NO formation in the endothelium of cerebral arteries.

Adolescent↗

[Sumatriptan treatment of migraine in general practice. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over study].

Two hundred and thirty migraineurs diagnosed by their general practitioners in accordance with their usual practice were included. The patients treated two migraine attacks at home by subcutaneous injection of sumatriptan or placebo and the alternative medication for the second attack (cross-over). When sumatriptan was compared to placebo, significantly more of the 209 evaluable patients reported headache relief at one hour (56% v 8%, p < 0.001) and two hours (62% v 15%, p < 0.001) after the first injection. Resolution of nausea, photophobia and phonophobia was significantly more common in patients on sumatriptan than on placebo (p < 0.001 for all comparisons). The adverse events were usually transient and of mild or moderate severity, although, three patients withdrew due to adverse events. Ninety-five percent of patients evaluated by a neurological research fellow met the International Headache Society's criteria for migraine. In general practice, sumatriptan taken subcutaneously using an autoinjector at home was an effective and well tolerated acute treatment for migraine.

Adolescent↗