Erenumab: A novel calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist developed specifically for migraine prevention.

Headaches and migraines continue to be a leading cause of suffering and disability. As per the Global Burden of Disease Survey conducted in 2010, the exact magnitude of the disease still is underestimated. Migraine alone continues to rank seventh as a cause of disability. Various therapeutic modalities exist and newer classes of medications are currently being trialed to provide effective treatment to this population of patients. Erenumab, a calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor inhibitor, is a recent addition to this armamentarium and has been approved by the FDA for use in 2018. It has shown modestly improved outcomes according to the current trials. However, long-term outcomes and adverse effects still are under research. The following article elaborates on the current literature and evidence on this novel drug.

New Daily Persistent Headache and OnabotulinumtoxinA Therapy.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine whether onabotulinumtoxinA therapy is effective in the treatment of new daily persistent headache (NDPH). BACKGROUND: New daily persistent headache is a difficult to treat headache syndrome resistant to both conventional and unconventional headache therapies. New daily persistent headache was excluded in the registration trials for onabotunlinumtoxinA (onabot) in chronic migraine. Apart from case reports supporting its benefit, little is known about its therapeutic value in NDPH. DESIGN AND METHODS: We performed a single-center, retrospective chart review of patients with a diagnosis of NDPH who received onabot treatment for a 30-month period at the Cleveland Clinic Headache Center. Measures of interest were headache frequency and headache severity. All patients had received the Food and Drug Administration-approved PREEMPT Protocol. RESULTS: A decrease in headache frequency was noted in 8 (50.0%) of 16 patients at 6 months and 7 (63.6%) of 11 patients at 12 months. Headache severity improved in 5 (50.0%) of 10 patients at 6 months and in 7 (77.8%) of 9 patients at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: Most therapies are unable to break the unremitting course of NDPH. In our investigation, at 1 year (3-4 cycles of onabot treatment), approximately half of the patients treated showed a reduction in headache frequency and approximately 75% demonstrated some improvement in headache severity. Evidence from this small-scale retrospective study suggests that onabot shows strong promise for the treatment of NDPH, which currently is resistant to most therapies, but a randomized controlled study should be the next step in confirmation of this therapy.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Primary Headache Disorders in Older Adults.

OBJECTIVES: To provide a unique perspective on geriatric headache and a number of novel treatment options that are not well known outside of the headache literature. DESIGN: Review of the most current and relevant headache literature for practitioners specializing in geriatric care. RESULTS: Evaluation and management of headache disorders in older adults requires an understanding of the underlying pathophysiology and how it relates to age-related physiological changes. To treat headache disorders in general, the appropriate diagnosis must first be established, and treatment of headaches in elderly adults poses unique challenges, including potential polypharmacy, medical comorbidities, and physiological changes associated with aging. CONCLUSION: The purpose of this review is to provide a guide to and perspective on the challenges inherent in treating headaches in older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc 66:2408-2416, 2018.

Sustained improvements in pain, mood, function and opioid use post interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation in patients weaned from high and low dose chronic opioid therapy.

Increased prescribing of opioids for chronic noncancer pain is associated with significant social costs, including overdose and addiction. In this context, there is interest in interdisciplinary chronic pain rehabilitation programs focusing on self-management and minimizing opioid use. This study examined outcomes of patients weaned from opioids in an ICPRP from 2007 to 2012. Participants included 413 patients on high dose chronic opioid therapy (COT; >100 mg), 528 on low dose COT, and 516 not on opioids (NO). Outcomes were assessed at discharge, 6, and 12 months posttreatment through self-report and chart review. One thousand one hundred ninety-four participants completed treatment (81.95%); 86.74% of those on opioids were weaned. High doses were less likely to complete (78.45%) than NO participants (85.27%; P < 0.05). Results showed immediate (P < 0.01) and sustained improvements (P < 0.05) in pain severity, depression, anxiety, and functional impairment with no group differences. Effect sizes ranged from medium to large (Cohen d values 0.57-1.96). Longitudinal medication use data were available for 319 no dose and 417 weaned participants; opioid resumption rates were 10.51% and 30.70% respectively. There were no differences in resumption between the high dose and low dose groups. Logistic regression analyses determined that opioid dose predicted neither treatment completion nor opioid resumption. Anxiety predicted completion, and functional impairment predicted opioid resumption within 1 year of discharge. Results suggest that patients on COT can be successfully weaned with long-term benefits in pain, mood, and function. Targeting anxiety and functional restoration may increase success rates.

Diet and Headache: Part 2.

BACKGROUND: Comprehensive diets do not require the exclusion of a specific provocative food or ingredient, but regulate the quantities of core components of foods such as vitamins, ions, proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. OBJECTIVES: To review the evidence supporting the use of comprehensive diets in the prevention of migraine and other headache disorders and to discuss the mechanisms through which food, and ingredients within foods and beverages might trigger attacks of headache METHODS: This represents Part 2 of a narrative review of the role of diet in the prevention of migraine and other headache disorders. A PubMed search was performed with the following search terms: "folate," "vitamin D," "low fat diet," "omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid diet," "ketogenic diet," "Atkins diet," and "sodium." Each of these search terms was then crossreferenced with "headache" and "migraine" to identify relevant studies. Only studies that were written in English were included in this review. RESULTS: Low fat and high omega-3/low omega-6 fatty diets decrease the frequency of attacks of migraine and/or other headache disorders as demonstrated in two separate randomized controlled trials. A ketogenic diet was more effective than a standard diet in reducing the frequency of migraine in a single nonrandomized clinical study. An observation study found that dietary consumption of folate was inversely associated with the frequency of migraine attacks in persons with migraine with aura that have the C variant of the methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase gene. The mechanisms though which diets may precipitate headache include their effects on neuropeptides, neuro-receptors and ion channels, inflammation, sympathetic nervous system, release of nitric oxide, vasodilation, and cerebral glucose metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence exists to support the use of comprehensive diets in the prevention of migraine and other headache disorders. However, the results of these studies should be considered preliminary until replicated in larger randomized controlled clinical trials.

Diet and Headache: Part 1.

BACKGROUND: The role of diet in the management of the headache patient is a controversial topic in the headache field. OBJECTIVES: To review the evidence supporting the hypothesis that specific foods or ingredients within foods and beverages trigger attacks of headache and/or migraine and to discuss the use of elimination diets in the prevention of headache disorders METHODS: This represents part 1 of a narrative review of the role of diet in the prevention of migraine and other headache disorders. A PubMed search was performed with the following search terms: "monosodium glutamate," "caffeine," "aspartame," "sucralose," "histamine intolerance syndrome," "tyramine," "alcohol," "chocolate," "nitrites," "IgG elimination diets," and "gluten." Each of these search terms was then cross-referenced with "headache" and "migraine" to identify relevant studies. Only studies that were written in English were included in this review. RESULTS: Caffeine withdrawal and administration of MSG (dissolved in liquid) has the strongest evidence for triggering attacks of headache as evidenced by multiple positive provocation studies. Aspartame has conflicting evidence with two positive and two negative provocation studies. Observational studies provide modest evidence that gluten- and histamine-containing foods as well as alcohol may precipitate headaches in subgroups of patients. Two of three randomized controlled trials reported that an elimination diet of IgG positive foods significantly decreased frequency of headache/migraine during the treatment as compared to baseline time period. CONCLUSIONS: Certain foods, beverages, and ingredients within foods may trigger attacks of headache and/or migraine in susceptible individuals. Elimination diets can prevent headaches in subgroups of persons with headache disorders.

Long-Term Outcomes and Clinical Characteristics of Hypnic Headache Syndrome: 40 Patients Series From a Tertiary Referral Center.

OBJECTIVE: Hypnic headaches (HHs) are unique because of late life onset and characteristic periodic nocturnal awakening. We retrospectively identified 40 cases at a tertiary headache referral center over the course of 6 years and assessed response to conventional treatments. METHODS: This was a retrospective study in which patients were identified using primary and secondary ICD-9 diagnostic codes of HHs (339.81) from October 2008 until December 2014 using the International Classification of Headache Disorders II and III-beta criteria for diagnosis. Baseline characteristics were collected. Primary outcome was response to medications divided into 4 categories: complete response (headaches completely gone), moderate response (≥50% decrease in frequency), partial response (<50% decrease in frequency), no response. RESULTS: Forty (40) patients (80% females) were identified with HHs, and mean follow-up was 929 days (range 42-2555). Average age of headache onset was 62 years (range 44-86). Twenty (50%) patients had previous history of migraine, 5% had bilateral cranial autonomic features, and 40% underlying sleep abnormalities. The average duration per day and frequency per month of headaches were 186 minutes (range 30-720 minutes) and 21 days (range 5-30), respectively. Among 15 different medications tried, the best response was seen with lithium (7/10 [70%] complete response and 2/10 [20%] moderate response). With caffeine, there was a complete response in 6/21 (28%) and moderate response in 9/21 (43%) subjects. A telephone follow-up survey revealed that 5 patients in the bedtime caffeine group also benefited from taking a caffeinated drink at the time of awakening. CONCLUSIONS: HH is an infrequent primary headache disorder that can present with cranial autonomic features. It can persist for years in the elderly. Lithium appeared to be the most effective treatment option, followed by caffeine at bedtime. Caffeine ingestion on awakening with an HH also demonstrated benefit. Cervicogenic headaches in the elderly and presence of active migraine are major confounders in the diagnosis of HHs.

Frequency of Migraine Headaches in Patients With Fibromyalgia.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency of migraine headache in a large cohort of patients with fibromyalgia using a brief migraine headache-screening tool. BACKGROUND: Several studies report a high prevalence of fibromyalgia among patients with migraine headaches, but there is a dearth of research evaluating the frequency of migraine headaches in patients with fibromyalgia, despite clinical observations suggesting that migraine headaches are common in patients with fibromyalgia. DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey study. Patients (N = 3717) with a previous diagnosis of fibromyalgia who were members of the Mayo Clinic Fibromyalgia Registry were contacted by electronic survey and asked to complete a brief demographic and medical history questionnaire and the validated ID-Migraine screener. RESULTS: A total of 1730 patients (46.5%) completed the electronic survey. The majority of participants were white (97.2%), female (92.5%), with a mean age of 56.2 (±13.1) years. Of the respondents, 966 (55.8%) met criteria for migraine headaches. Hypertension (309 [32.3%] vs. 294 [40.1%], P = .004), asthma (312 [32.5%] vs. 189 [25.9%], P = .011), irritable bowel syndrome (520 [54.6%] vs. 348 [47.6], P = .017), chronic fatigue syndrome (486 [50.7%] vs. 271 [37.1], P < .0001), depression (634 [66.5%] vs. 413 [56.7%], P = .0002), anxiety (415 [43.5%] vs. 252 [34.7%], P = .0011), and post-traumatic stress disorder (172 [18.0%] vs. 96 [13.2%], P = .006) were all significantly more common in those who met criteria for migraine headaches than those who did not. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that migraine headaches are common in patients with fibromyalgia. Clinicians who care for either population must be aware that these conditions commonly overlap and can significantly increase a patient's cumulative disease burden.

Knowledge and attitudes of health care workers regarding MOLST (Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) implementation in long-term care facilities.

We studied the impact of knowledge and attitudes of physicians, nurses, and social workers in nursing facilities of the Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment(MOLST)implementation. The results indicate that in the case of advance directives, knowledge influences care.