Diagnostic accuracy of an artificial intelligence online engine in migraine: A multi-center study.

OBJECTIVE: This study assesses the concordance in migraine diagnosis between an online, self-administered, Computer-based, Diagnostic Engine (CDE) and semi-structured interview (SSI) by a headache specialist, both using International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (ICHD-3) criteria. BACKGROUND: Delay in accurate diagnosis is a major barrier to headache care. Accurate computer-based algorithms may help reduce the need for SSI-based encounters to arrive at correct ICHD-3 diagnosis. METHODS: Between March 2018 and August 2019, adult participants were recruited from three academic headache centers and the community via advertising to our cross-sectional study. Participants completed two evaluations: phone interview conducted by headache specialists using the SSI and a web-based expert questionnaire and analytics, CDE. Participants were randomly assigned to either the SSI followed by the web-based questionnaire or the web-based questionnaire followed by the SSI. Participants completed protocols a few minutes apart. The concordance in migraine/probable migraine (M/PM) diagnosis between SSI and CDE was measured using Cohen's kappa statistics. The diagnostic accuracy of CDE was assessed using the SSI as reference standard. RESULTS: Of the 276 participants consented, 212 completed both SSI and CDE (study completion rate = 77%; median age = 32 years [interquartile range: 28-40], female:male ratio = 3:1). Concordance in M/PM diagnosis between SSI and CDE was: κ = 0.83 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.75-0.91). CDE diagnostic accuracy: sensitivity = 90.1% (118/131), 95% CI: 83.6%-94.6%; specificity = 95.8% (68/71), 95% CI: 88.1%-99.1%. Positive and negative predictive values = 97.0% (95% CI: 91.3%-99.0%) and 86.6% (95% CI: 79.3%-91.5%), respectively, using identified migraine prevalence of 60%. Assuming a general migraine population prevalence of 10%, positive and negative predictive values were 70.3% (95% CI: 43.9%-87.8%) and 98.9% (95% CI: 98.1%-99.3%), respectively. CONCLUSION: The SSI and CDE have excellent concordance in diagnosing M/PM. Positive CDE helps rule in M/PM, through high specificity and positive likelihood ratio. A negative CDE helps rule out M/PM through high sensitivity and low negative likelihood ratio. CDE that mimics SSI logic is a valid tool for migraine diagnosis.

What is the efficacy of aerobic exercise versus strength training in the treatment of migraine? A systematic review and network meta-analysis of clinical trials.

BACKGROUND: Multiple clinical trials with different exercise protocols have demonstrated efficacy in the management of migraine. However, there is no head-to-head comparison of efficacy between the different exercise interventions. METHODS: A systematic review and network meta-analysis was performed involving all clinical trials which determined the efficacy of exercise interventions in reducing the frequency of monthly migraine. Medical journal search engines included Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus spanning all previous years up to July 30, 2022. Both aerobic and strength/resistance training protocols were included. The mean difference (MD, 95% confidence interval) in monthly migraine frequency from baseline to end-of-intervention between the active and control arms was used as an outcome measure. Efficacy evidence from direct and indirect comparisons was combined by conducting a random effects model network meta-analysis. The efficacy of the three exercise protocols was compared, i.e., moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, high-intensity aerobic exercise, and strength/resistance training. Studies that compared the efficacy of migraine medications (topiramate, amitriptyline) to exercise were included. Additionally, the risk of bias in all included studies was assessed by using the Cochrane Risk of Bias version 2 (RoB2). RESULTS: There were 21 published clinical trials that involved a total of 1195 migraine patients with a mean age of 35 years and a female-to-male ratio of 6.7. There were 27 pairwise comparisons and 8 indirect comparisons. The rank of the interventions was as follows: strength training (MD = -3.55 [- 6.15, - 0.95]), high-intensity aerobic exercise (-3.13 [-5.28, -0.97]), moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (-2.18 [-3.25, -1.11]), topiramate (-0.98 [-4.16, 2.20]), placebo, amitriptyline (3.82 [- 1.03, 8.68]). The RoB2 assessment showed that 85% of the included studies demonstrated low risk of bias, while 15% indicated high risk of bias for intention-to-treat analysis. Sources of high risk of bias include randomization process and handling of missing outcome data. CONCLUSION: Strength training exercise regimens demonstrated the highest efficacy in reducing migraine burden, followed by high-intensity aerobic exercise.

Headache outcomes of a sleep behavioral intervention in breast cancer survivors: Secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer survivors often have persisting headache. In a secondary analysis of the Brief Behavioral Therapy for Cancer-Related Insomnia (BBT-CI) clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02165839), the authors examined the effects of BBT-CI on headache outcomes in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: Patients with breast cancer who were receiving chemotherapy were randomly assigned to receive either the BBT-CI intervention or the Healthy EAting Education Learning for healthy sleep (HEAL) control intervention, and both were delivered over 6 weeks by trained staff. Headache outcomes and heart rate variability (HRV) were measured at baseline, 6 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months. Mixed-effects models were used to examine longitudinal headache outcomes in the groups according to the intention to treat. Principal component analysis and agglomerative hierarchical clustering were conducted to reduce 16 variables for data-driven phenotyping. RESULTS: Patients in the BBT-CI arm (n = 73) exhibited a significant reduction in headache burden over time (P = .02; effect size [Cohen d] = 0.43), whereas the reduction was not significant among those in the HEAL arm (n = 66). The first principal component was positively loaded by headache, sleep, fatigue, and nausea/vomiting and was negatively loaded by cognitive, physical, and emotional functioning. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering revealed 3 natural clusters. Cluster I (n = 58) featured the highest burden of headache, insomnia, and nausea/vomiting; cluster II (n = 50) featured the lowest HRV despite a low burden of headache and insomnia; and cluster III (n = 31) showed an inverse relation between HRV and headache-insomnia, signifying autonomic dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: BBT-CI is efficacious in reducing headache burden in breast cancer survivors. Patient phenotyping demonstrates a headache type featuring sleep disturbance, nausea/vomiting, and low physical functioning-revealing similarities to migraine. LAY SUMMARY: Breast cancer survivors often have persisting headache symptoms. In patients with cancer, treatment of chronic headache disorders using daily medications may be challenging because of drug interactions with chemotherapy and other cancer therapies as well as patients' reluctance to add more drugs to their medicine list. Headache and sleep disorders are closely related to each other. This study demonstrates that a sleep behavioral therapy reduced headache burden in breast cancer survivors. In addition, the majority of headache sufferers had a headache type with similarities to migraine-featuring sleep disturbance, nausea/vomiting, and low physical functioning.

Medication overuse headache in patients with chronic migraine using cannabis: A case-referent study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether cannabis use predicts medication overuse headache (MOH) in patients with chronic migraine (CM). METHODS: Electronic chart review was conducted by combining the terms "CM," "medication overuse," "cannabis," "cannabidiol," and "tetrahydrocannabinol" for patients seen at our headache clinics from 2015 to 2019. Of 729 charts consecutively screened, 368 met our inclusion criteria, that is, adult patients with CM with ≥1-year CM duration. The following variables were extracted from the included patient charts: MOH diagnosis, age, sex, migraine frequency, current CM duration, current cannabis use duration, overused acute migraine medications, current MOH duration, and types of cannabis products used. Logistic regression was used to identify variables predicting MOH while controlling for remaining predictors. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) was conducted to explore natural clusters using all predictor variables. RESULTS: There were 212 patients with CM and MOH (cases; median age 43 years, interquartile range [IQR] 33-54; 177 [83%] females) and 156 patients with CM without MOH (referents; median age 40 years, IQR 31-49; 130 [83%] females). MOH was present in 81% (122/150) of current cannabis users compared with 41% (90/218) in those without cannabis use-adjusted odds ratio 6.3 (95% CI: 3.56 to 11.1, p < 0.0001). Current cannabis use was significantly associated with opioid use (Spearman's rho 0.26, p < 0.0001). Both current cannabis use (rho 0.40, p < 0.0001) and opioid use (rho 0.36, p < 0.0001) were significantly associated with MOH. Similarly, AHC revealed two major natural clusters. Cluster I patients featured 9.3 times higher current cannabis use, 9.2 times higher current opioid use, and 1.8 times higher MOH burden than those in Cluster II (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Cannabis use was significantly associated with increased prevalence of MOH in CM. Bidirectional cannabis-opioid association was observed-use of one was associated with use of the other. Advising patients with CM and MOH to reduce cannabis use may help treat MOH effectively.

Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Receptor Antagonists (Gepants) for the Acute Treatment of Nausea in Episodic Migraine: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To synthesize the evidence on the efficacy of calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonists (gepants) from all clinical trials addressing nausea treatment for episodic migraine. INTRODUCTION: Nausea is one of the most bothersome symptoms in patients with migraine. The most bothersome symptom is part of the outcomes explored in clinical trials. METHODS: Published clinical trials for this project were identified via searches of 4 bibliographic databases: PubMed (includes MEDLINE), Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. Individual search strategies included terms related to calcitonin gene-related peptide, nausea, and vomiting. Random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the overall efficacy of gepants for nausea treatment. Heterogeneity, publication bias, small-study bias, and potential confounders were explored using Galbraith plot, sensitivity analysis, meta-regression, and Egger's regression tests. Cumulative meta-analysis was done to detect temporal trend from accumulating trials. RESULTS: The meta-analysis involved 23,008 participants in 65 clinical trials from 14 published articles; 10,770 subjects participated in gepant treatment arms while 12,238 subjects participated in placebo or non-gepant arms (85% females, mean age 41 years in both arms). Nearly all studies used a 2-hour incidence of nausea as an outcome measure. An overall combined effect size with an odds ratio of 1.29 (95% CI 1.18, 1.40, P = .001; I2  = 42.8%) showed the efficacy of gepants for the treatment of nausea in episodic migraine. Galbraith plot demonstrated that 98.4% of studies were within 2 standard deviations from the regression line, indicating lack of significant heterogeneity and outliers. Meta-analysis results were robust to sensitivity analysis, small-study bias, and publication bias (Kendall's Tau -0.09, P = .29; Egger's regression P = .67). Meta-regression showed that both age and sex ratio were not confounding the meta-analysis (omnibus P = .69). Cumulative meta-analysis indicated that the effect size remained stable for studies conducted after 2011, with accumulating evidence continuing to favor efficacy of gepants for the treatment of nausea in episodic migraine. CONCLUSION: There is sufficient evidence to support the efficacy of gepants for the treatment of nausea in episodic migraine. Future research may focus on examining this efficacy in under-represented patient populations (males, older age groups) and in chronic migraine.

Clinical Features Contributing to Cortical Thickness Changes in Chronic Migraine - A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this cross-sectional pilot study were threefold: to identify regions of cortical thickness that differentiate chronic migraine (CM) from controls, to assess group differences in interregional cortical thickness covariance, and to determine group differences in associations between clinical variables and cortical thickness. BACKGROUND: Cortical thickness alterations in relation to clinical features have not been adequately explored in CM. Assessment of this relationship can be useful to describe cortical substrates for disease progression in migraine and to identify clinical variables that warrant management emphasis. METHODS: Thirty CM cases (mean age 40 years; male-to-female 1:4) and 30 sex-matched healthy controls (mean age 40 years) were enrolled. Participants completed self-administered and standardized questionnaires assessing headache-related clinical features and common psychological comorbidities. T1-weighted brain images were acquired on a 3T MRI. A whole-brain cortical thickness analysis was performed. Additionally, correlations between all brain regions were assessed to examine interregional cortical thickness covariance. Interactions were analyzed to identify clinical variables that were significantly associated with cortical thickness. RESULTS: The whole brain cortical thickness analysis revealed no significant differences between CM patients and controls. However, significant associations between clinical features and cortical thickness were observed for the patients only. These associations included the right superior temporal sulcus (R2  = 0.72, P = .001) and the right insula (R2  = 0.71, P = .002) with distinct clinical variables ie, longer history of CM, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sleep quality, pain self-efficacy, and somatic symptoms. Higher interregional cortical covariance was found in CM compared to controls (OR = 3.1, CI 2.10-4.56, P < .0001), such that cortical thickness between regions tended to be more correlated in patients, particularly in the temporal and frontal lobes. CONCLUSION: CM patients have significantly greater cortical covariance compared to controls. Cortical thickness in CM patients was predominantly accounted for by CM duration, PTSD, and poor sleep quality, while improved pain self-efficacy buffered cortical thickness. While it is important to address all CM features and comorbidities, it may be useful to emphasize optimizing the management of certain clinical features that contribute to cortical abnormalities including managing PTSD, early management to shorten duration of CM, and improving pain self-efficacy and sleep quality.

Headache in Resource-Limited Settings.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review summarizes the unmet need of headache burden and management in resource-limited settings. It provides a general overview of the nuances and peculiarities of headache disorders in resource-limited settings. The review delivers perspectives and explanations for the emerging burden of both primary and secondary headache disorders. Important discussion on demographic and epidemiologic transition pertinent to low-resource settings is included. A critical analysis of headache disorders is made within the context of growing burden non-communicable disorders in low-resource countries. Challenges are examined and prospective feasible solutions tailored to existing resources are provided to address headache disorders in resource-limited settings. RECENT FINDINGS: Many low-resource countries are entering into the third epidemiological transition featuring increasing burden of non-communicable disorders of which headache disorders contribute a significant proportion. Exponential population growth involving youthful demographic and massive rural-urban migration is taking place in low-resource countries. Youthful demographic is the natural cohort for primary headache such as migraine. Socioeconomic mobility and lifestyle changes are leading to higher levels of physical inactivity and obesity, both of which are related to headache. Life expectancy is rising in some resource-restricted countries; this increases prevalence of secondary headache attributed to neurovascular causes. Many low-resource countries are still burdened with tropical infectious causes of secondary headache. Health care facilities are primarily designed to respond to infectious epidemic and not to chronic burden such as headache. Many low-resource-restricted settings are plagued by poor and corrupt governance, ill-equipped regimes with malfunctioning health policies, war, and poverty. Many low-resource settings do not have access to generic headache medications such as triptans. Headache training and expertise is low. Healthy lifestyle changes emphasizing on improving regular exercise can be inexpensive method to reducing primary headache burden and its comorbidities (e.g. obesity). Addressing the increasing burden of headache disorders in resource-limited settings is important to avert accrued disability which in turn lowers productivity and socioeconomic performance in a young booming population.

Spontaneous extracranial hemorrhagic phenomena in primary headache disorders: A systematic review of published cases.

Background Head pain is a cardinal feature of primary headache disorders (PHDs) and is often accompanied by autonomic and vasomotor symptoms and/or signs. Spontaneous extracranial hemorrhagic phenomena (SEHP), including epistaxis, ecchymosis, and hematohidrosis (a disorder of bleeding through sweat glands), are poorly characterized features of PHDs. Aim To critically appraise the association between SEHP and PHDs by systematically reviewing and pooling all reports of SEHP associated with headaches. Methods Advanced searches using the PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate databases were carried out for clinical studies by combining the terms "headache AND ecchymosis", "headache AND epistaxis", and "headache AND hematohidrosis" spanning all medical literature prior to October 10, 2015. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines were applied. Results A total of 105 cases of SEHP associated with PHDs (83% migraine and 17% trigeminal autonomic cephalgias) were identified (median age 27 years, male to female ratio 1:2.3); 63% had epistaxis, 33% ecchymosis, and 4% hematohidrosis. Eighty-three percent of studies applied the International Classification of Headache Disorders diagnostic criteria. Eighty percent of the reported headaches were episodic and 20% were chronic. Twenty-four percent of studies reported recurrent episodes of SEHP. Conclusions Our results suggest that SEHP may be rare features of PHDs. Future studies would benefit from the systematic characterization of these phenomena.

Indomethacin Responsive Headaches: Exhaustive Systematic Review with Pooled Analysis and Critical Appraisal of 81 Published Clinical Studies.

OBJECTIVES: The relationship between indomethacin (IMC) and headache treatment has long intrigued clinicians and clinical researchers in Headache Medicine. Why is it efficacious in many types of headache disorders when other medications are not, and what is the mechanism behind its efficacy? IMC and headache related topics that have been explored in detail in the literature include IMC-responsive headache disorders ("traditional"), pharmacology of IMC, symptomatic headaches responsive to IMC, "novel" headache conditions that respond, cluster headache and IMC, IMC provoking headache, the issue about" absolute" and "non-absolute" effect of IMC on headache disorders, and the morphing trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (TACs). DATA SOURCE: A PubMed/MEDLINE search was used for Clinical Studies Categories and Systematic Reviews on the PubMed Clinical Queries. The search details were "indomethacin" AND "headache" spanning all previous years until February 1, 2015. Methods were in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. REVIEW METHODS: Articles were excluded if IMC had not been used to treat headache disorders in adults, if the article concerned IMC-responsive headaches but made no reference to the use of IMC, and articles not addressing the above mentioned topics. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The "velocity" of publications on IMC and headache seems to be decreasing, particularly on the use of IMC for the treatment of TACs. The science behind the understanding of the putative mechanisms of IMC's action on headache has moved forward, but the answer to why it works better than other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs has been elusive. There are case reports of other rare headache disorders that may be responsive to IMC. The dosages of IMC used as a tool for detecting IMC responsive disorders vary according to different centers of investigation. In many circumstances, headache disorders similar to "primary" IMC-responsive disorders are actually symptomatic disorders. Cluster headache as an IMC-resistant headache disorder may not be as absolute as once thought. Sometimes, IMC has been found to provoke headache; differentiating IMC-provoked headache from IMC-resistant headache can make headache diagnosis and management difficult. As for the "absolute" responsiveness of IMC, it is possible that using higher dosages leads to higher sensitivity, probably at the expense of decreased specificity. There are many reports about the occurrence of two or more IMC-responsive disorders (latu sensu) in the same patient, which may be coincidental.

Contributing towards the betterment of translational epilepsy research in Africa: needs, challenges, resources, and opportunities.

Epilepsy affects approximately 50 million people worldwide. Among them, at least 40 million people are currently living in the developing world, where resources and standards of care are suboptimal. Around 90 % of people with epilepsy in resource-poor countries do not currently receive appropriate treatments, at a time when two thirds of these patients could have achieved good control of their epileptic seizures had they had access to appropriate therapies. Scarcity of epilepsy specialists, poor availability or access to diagnostic facilities and treatments, poor community knowledge about epilepsy-related issues, stigma, and other societal and cultural barriers are only some of the issues contributing to this deficiency. These issues in epilepsy treatment have been well recognized, and ongoing concerted efforts to address them have been undertaken by both local authorities and international organizations. In many cases, patients resort to the use of traditional local and alternative medicines (herbs, religious practices, etc.) that are closer to indigenous cosmovision, are more holistic, and are more culture-friendly, preserving an optimum subtlety of Afrocentric character shading. Compared with imported Western medicines, patients find these approaches to be more relevant to their ways of thinking, their ways of being, and their belief systems, more accessible, and more acceptable methods of dealing with health and disease states. The impressive local wealth in these natural resources has established them as a preferred source of healing in these regions, but has also fueled interest in exploring their therapeutic potential in the very few existing local research centers. In this review, we discuss the known issues related to the epilepsy treatment gap in resource-poor regions, focusing in particular on African countries, introduce the role and issues related to the use and validation of alternative medical therapies in epilepsy, and comment on the importance and repercussions of initiatives to validate such therapies, primarily for local practices, but also for possible wider international applications.

Cancer in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has a population of more than 84 million people and is expected to become the ninth most populous country in the world by 2050. The growing population coupled with lifestyle changes will mean an increasing burden of cancer. However, oncology services are wholly inadequate--no cancer registry exists, and only one cancer centre, with a handful of doctors and nurses, struggles to serve the entire country.

The effectiveness of the anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy infliximab in neuro-Behçet's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effectiveness of infliximab for the treatment of refractory central neuro-Behçet's disease. METHODS: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, the research question was designed using the 'Population, Intervention, Comparator, and Outcomes' (PICO) model and the search methodology was developed according to the PRISMA statement. The study was registered on PROSPERO. Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for articles published in English between January 2000 and January 2020. Data were analysed using Meta-Essentials software, version 10.12. Treatment effect size was determined by a random effects model. Interstudy heterogeneity was explored using I2 statistics. Cumulative meta-analysis was conducted to assess the temporal trend for accumulating evidence. RESULTS: Twenty-one studies, comprising 64 patients (mean age, 38 .21 years and mean disease duration, 84.76 months) were included. Effect-size analysis showed that 93.7% of the treated patients in the analysis were responders to infliximab therapy (95% confidence interval 0.88, 0.993). There was no significant inter-study heterogeneity (I2 = 0%). Cumulative analysis showed accumulating evidence favoring increasing effectiveness over the last 20 years. CONCLUSION: Infliximab showed considerable therapeutic effectiveness in the treatment of refractory neuro-Behçet's disease.

Computerized migraine diagnostic tools: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Computerized migraine diagnostic tools have been developed and validated since 1960. We conducted a systematic review to summarize and critically appraise the quality of all published studies involving computerized migraine diagnostic tools. METHODS: We performed a systematic literature search using PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, snowballing, and citation searching. Cutoff date for search was 1 June 2021. Published articles in English that evaluated a computerized/automated migraine diagnostic tool were included. The following summarized each study: publication year, digital tool name, development basis, sample size, sensitivity, specificity, reference diagnosis, strength, and limitations. The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS) tool was applied to evaluate the quality of included studies in terms of risk of bias and concern of applicability. RESULTS: A total of 41 studies (median sample size: 288 participants, median age = 43 years; 77% women) were included. Most (60%) tools were developed based on International Classification of Headache Disorders criteria, half were self-administered, and 82% were evaluated using face-to-face interviews as reference diagnosis. Some of the automated algorithms and machine learning programs involved case-based reasoning, deep learning, classifier ensemble, ant-colony, artificial immune, random forest, white and black box combinations, and hybrid fuzzy expert systems. The median diagnostic accuracy was concordance = 89% [interquartile range (IQR) = 76-93%; range = 45-100%], sensitivity = 87% (IQR = 80-95%; range = 14-100%), and specificity = 90% (IQR = 77-96%; range = 65-100%). Lack of random patient sampling was observed in 95% of studies. Case-control designs were avoided in all studies. Most (76%) reference tests exhibited low risk of bias and low concern of applicability. Patient flow and timing showed low risk of bias in 83%. CONCLUSION: Different computerized and automated migraine diagnostic tools are available with varying accuracies. Random patient sampling, head-to-head comparison among tools, and generalizability to other headache diagnoses may improve their utility.

Association of illness mindsets with health-related quality of life in cancer survivors.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the association between mindsets-established, but mutable beliefs that a person holds-and health-related quality of life in survivors of breast and gynecologic cancer. METHOD: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted with breast and gynecologic cancer survivors. Measures included the Illness Mindset Questionnaire and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G). RESULTS: Two hundred seventy-three survivors (74% breast/26% gynecologic) who were on average 3.9 years post-diagnosis (SD = 4.2), Mage 55 (SD = 12) completed the survey (response rate 80%). Of the survivors, 20.1% (N = 55) endorsed ("agree" or "strongly agree") that Cancer is a Catastrophe, 52.4% (N = 143) endorsed that Cancer is Manageable, and 65.9% (N = 180) endorsed that Cancer can be an Opportunity (not mutually exclusive). Those who endorsed a maladaptive mindset (Cancer is a Catastrophe) reported lower health-related quality of life (HRQOL) compared with those who did not hold this belief (p < .001). Alternatively, those who endorsed more adaptive mindsets (Cancer is Manageable or Cancer can be an Opportunity) reported better HRQOL compared with those who disagreed (all p-values < .05). All three mindsets were independent correlates of HRQOL, explaining 6-15% unique variance in HRQOL, even after accounting for demographic and medical factors. CONCLUSIONS: Mindsets about illness are significantly associated with HRQOL in cancer survivors. Our data come from a one-time evaluation of cancer survivors at a single clinic and provide a foundation for future longitudinal studies and RCTs on the relationship between mindsets and psychosocial outcomes in cancer survivors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Plasma Lipolysis and Changes in Plasma and Cerebrospinal Fluid Signaling Lipids Reveal Abnormal Lipid Metabolism in Chronic Migraine.

BACKGROUND: Lipids are a primary storage form of energy and the source of inflammatory and pain signaling molecules, yet knowledge of their importance in chronic migraine (CM) pathology is incomplete. We aim to determine if plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lipid metabolism are associated with CM pathology. METHODS: We obtained plasma and CSF from healthy controls (CT, n = 10) or CM subjects (n = 15) diagnosed using the International Headache Society criteria. We measured unesterified fatty acid (UFA) and esterified fatty acids (EFAs) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Glycerophospholipids (GP) and sphingolipid (SP) levels were determined using LC-MS/MS, and phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity was determined using fluorescent substrates. RESULTS: Unesterified fatty acid levels were significantly higher in CM plasma but not in CSF. Unesterified levels of five saturated fatty acids (SAFAs), eight monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), five ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and five ω-6 PUFAs are higher in CM plasma. Esterified levels of three SAFAs, eight MUFAs, five ω-3 PUFAs, and three ω-6 PUFAs, are higher in CM plasma. The ratios C20:4n-6/homo-γ-C20:3n-6 representative of delta-5-desaturases (D5D) and the elongase ratio are lower in esterified and unesterified CM plasma, respectively. In the CSF, the esterified D5D index is lower in CM. While PLA2 activity was similar, the plasma UFA to EFA ratio is higher in CM. Of all plasma GP/SPs detected, only ceramide levels are lower (p = 0.0003) in CM (0.26 ± 0.07%) compared to CT (0.48 ± 0.06%). The GP/SP proportion of platelet-activating factor (PAF) is significantly lower in CM CSF. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma and CSF lipid changes are consistent with abnormal lipid metabolism in CM. Since plasma UFAs correspond to diet or adipose tissue levels, higher plasma fatty acids and UFA/EFA ratios suggest enhanced adipose lipolysis in CM. Differences in plasma and CSF desaturases and elongases suggest altered lipid metabolism in CM. A lower plasma ceramide level suggests reduced de novo synthesis or reduced sphingomyelin hydrolysis. Changes in CSF PAF suggest differences in brain lipid signaling pathways in CM. Together, this pilot study shows lipid metabolic abnormality in CM corresponding to altered energy homeostasis. We propose that controlling plasma lipolysis, desaturases, elongases, and lipid signaling pathways may relieve CM symptoms.

Endogenous glucocorticoids may serve as biomarkers for migraine chronification.

AIMS: The aims of this study were to: (a) identify differences in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) glucocorticoids among episodic migraine (EM) and chronic migraine (CM) patients compared with controls; (b) determine longitudinal changes in serum glucocorticoids in CM patients; and (c) determine migraine-related clinical features contributing to glucocorticoid levels. METHODS: Serum and CSF levels of cortisol and corticosterone were measured using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry among adult patients with EM, CM, and controls. Serum and CSF samples were collected from 26 and four participants in each group, respectively. Serum glucocorticoids were measured at a second timepoint after 2 years among 10 of the CM patients, six of whom reverted to EM while four persisted as CM. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was made to assess the migraine diagnostic performance of glucocorticoids. Regression analysis was conducted to determine the link between glucocorticoid levels and migraine-related clinical variables. RESULTS: CM patients exhibited significantly elevated serum and CSF levels of cortisol and corticosterone compared with controls and EM patients (age, sex, body mass index adjusted; Kruskal-Wallis p < 0.05). ROC showed area-under-curve of 0.89 to differentiate CM from EM. CM patients with remission had their serum glucocorticoids return to control or near EM levels (p < 0.05). Persistent CM showed unremitting serum glucocorticoids. Migraine frequency and disability contributed to increased cortisol, while pain self-efficacy predicted lower cortisol levels (p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: Endogenous glucocorticoids may be biomarkers for migraine progression and for monitoring treatment response. Improving pain self-efficacy skills may help optimize endogenous glucocorticoid levels, which in turn may prevent migraine attacks.

Exploring Natural Clusters of Chronic Migraine Phenotypes: A Cross-Sectional Clinical Study.

Heterogeneity in chronic migraine (CM) presents significant challenge for diagnosis, management, and clinical trials. To explore naturally occurring clusters of CM, we utilized data reduction methods on migraine-related clinical dataset. Hierarchical agglomerative clustering and principal component analyses (PCA) were conducted to identify natural clusters in 100 CM patients using 14 migraine-related clinical variables. Three major clusters were identified. Cluster I (29 patients) - the severely impacted patient featured highest levels of depression and migraine-related disability. Cluster II (28 patients) - the minimally impacted patient exhibited highest levels of self-efficacy and exercise. Cluster III (43 patients) - the moderately impacted patient showed features ranging between Cluster I and II. The first 5 principal components (PC) of the PCA explained 65% of variability. The first PC (eigenvalue 4.2) showed one major pattern of clinical features positively loaded by migraine-related disability, depression, poor sleep quality, somatic symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder, being overweight and negatively loaded by pain self-efficacy and exercise levels. CM patients can be classified into three naturally-occurring clusters. Patients with high self-efficacy and exercise levels had lower migraine-related disability, depression, sleep quality, and somatic symptoms. These results may ultimately inform different management strategies.

Altered structural brain network topology in chronic migraine.

Despite its prevalence and high disease burden, the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying chronic migraine (CM) are not well understood. As CM is a complex disorder associated with a range of sensory, cognitive, and affective comorbidities, examining structural network disruption may provide additional insights into CM symptomology beyond studies of focal brain regions. Here, we compared structural interconnections in patients with CM (n = 52) and healthy controls (HC) (n = 48) using MRI measures of cortical thickness and subcortical volume combined with graph theoretical network analyses. The analysis focused on both local (nodal) and global measures of topology to examine network integration, efficiency, centrality, and segregation. Our results indicated that patients with CM had altered global network properties that were characterized as less integrated and efficient (lower global and local efficiency) and more highly segregated (higher transitivity). Patients also demonstrated aberrant local network topology that was less integrated (higher path length), less central (lower closeness centrality), less efficient (lower local efficiency) and less segregated (lower clustering). These network differences not only were most prominent in the limbic and insular cortices but also occurred in frontal, temporal, and brainstem regions, and occurred in the absence of group differences in focal brain regions. Taken together, examining structural correlations between brain areas may be a more sensitive means to detect altered brain structure and understand CM symptomology at the network level. These findings contribute to an increased understanding of structural connectivity in CM and provide a novel approach to potentially track and predict the progression of migraine disorders.This study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT03304886).

Migraine affects 1 in 10 people worldwide featuring recent rise: A systematic review and meta-analysis of community-based studies involving 6 million participants.

OBJECTIVE: To study the weighted average global prevalence of migraine at the community level. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: A systematic review using advanced search strategies employing PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science was conducted for community-based and non-clinical studies by combining the terms "migraine", "community-based", and names of every country worldwide spanning all previous years from January 1, 1920 until August 31, 2015. Methods were in accordance with PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines. A meta-analysis with subgroup analysis was performed to identify pooled migraine prevalence and examine cohort heterogeneity. RESULTS: A total of 302 community-based studies involving 6,216,995 participants (median age 35years, male-to-female ratio of 0.91) were included. Global migraine prevalence was 11.6% (95% CI 10.7-12.6%; random effects); 10.4% in Africa, 10.1% in Asia, 11.4% in Europe, 9.7% in North America, 16.4% in Central and South America. When the pooled cohort was stratified, the prevalence was 13.8% among females, 6.9% among males, 11.2% among urban residents, 8.4% among rural residents, and 12.4% among school/college students. Our result showed a pattern of rising global migraine prevalence. CONCLUSION: Migraine affects one in ten people worldwide featuring recent rise. Higher prevalence was found among females, students, and urban residents.