STATE OF AUTONOMIC REGULATION AND CEREBROVASCULAR REACTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH HEADACHE WITH ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION.

OBJECTIVE: The aim: A comprehensive assessment of the state of the autonomic nervous system and cerebrovascular reactivity of the cerebral blood flow in the patients with the headache accompanied by arterial hypertension (AH) and somatoform autonomic dysfunction (SAD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: We conducted the clinical, autonomic regulation and Doppler sonography examination of 124 young patients (18-45 years old), including 51 men and 73 women in the conditions of the clinical base of the Kharkiv Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education in 2018-2021. All patients with cephalgias were divided into three groups: with AH stage II (Group I - 41 patients), AH stage I (Group II - 40 patients), SAD (Group III - 43 patients). The control group consisted of 50 patients of the corresponding gender and age. RESULTS: Results: The intensity of cephalalgia in patients with SAD was maximum. The autonomic tone (AT) was changed in 68.5%examined patients. It had a pronounced shift towards sympathicotonia. According to the visual analogue scale the maximum intensity of cephalgias was against the sympathicotonia. In the groups with organic lesions of the cerebral vessels the latent period delay was registered with the progression of the organic pathology. The regularity was revealed - the shortening of the evoked skin sympathetic potentials latency with the severity of cephalalgia, which can be interpreted as an increase in ergotropic effects with the realisation of the pain syndrome. The obtained data on the state of the AT indicate the depletion of the ergotropic processes with the progression of cerebral ischemia with a known increase in parasympathicotonia. In the patients of SAD group the CrCO2 and KrFNTvalues were significantly increased, in AH stage I group they slightly exceeded the standard values , in AH stage II group they were reduced. The reactivity to the orthostatic loads and functional metabolic test in all groups exceeded the control values. CONCLUSION: Conclusions: 1. The cephalgic syndrome is one of the main symptoms of the autonomic dysfunction and arterial hypertension; the frequency and intensity of the headache increases with the hyperreactivity of the sympathetic system. 2. The SSP data indicate that the sympathetic activity triggers and maintains the pain syndrome, and can also be realized in the form of arterial hypertension. 3. The dysfunction of the central link of the GSR indicates the instability of the autonomous regulation, the work of the limbic-reticular complex, which is clinically manifested by the changes in the cerebral vascular tone. 4. The cerebrovascular hyperreactivity as a sign of the search for the optimal sanogenetic variant of the cerebral hemodynamics in patients with SAD and AH stage I occurs predominantly due to the vasodilatory component. 5. In the patients with AH stage II the vasoconstrictor reactions are observed with the depletion of the vasodilation reserves, which is a marker of the autoregulation failure.

Pilot-RCT of an integrative group therapy for patients with refractory irritable bowel syndrome (ISRCTN02977330).

OBJECTIVE: Different forms of psychotherapeutic treatments have been proven effective in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but disorder-oriented and integrative concepts are still rare. Therefore, we implemented and evaluated an integrative group therapeutic concept within an interdisciplinary tertiary care clinic for functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs). AIMS: present our integrative group concept, assess feasibility issues, and evaluate efficacy. METHODS: A pilot-RCT with a randomized controlled wait-listed group design was conducted. The treatment concept was a disorder-oriented multicomponent group therapy (12 90-min weekly sessions) integrating interactive psychoeducation, gut-directed hypnotherapy, and open group phases. All patients received enhanced medical care and completed a short online diary as an active wait-listed control condition. INCLUSION CRITERIA: refractory IBS diagnosed as somatoform autonomic dysfunction of the lower gastrointestinal tract (SAD). PRIMARY OUTCOME: IBS symptom severity (IBS-SSS). RESULTS: Of 294 patients, 220 had IBS (ROME III), 144 were diagnosed as SAD (ICD-10), 51 were eligible regarding inclusion/exclusion criteria, and 30 consented to participate (group intervention: n=16, wait-listed control condition: n=14). Only 1 patient dropped out. Intention-to-treat-analysis with repeated-measures mixed ANOVA showed that the group intervention was not significantly superior to the wait-listed control condition. Nevertheless, the calculated effect size for the between-group difference in IBS-SSS at the end of treatment (post) was moderate (d=0.539). CONCLUSION: Our disorder-oriented integrative group intervention for IBS proved to be acceptable and feasible in an interdisciplinary tertiary care setting. There is promise in this intervention, but a larger RCT may be needed to investigate efficacy.

Somatoform disorders in patients with chronic pain.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the frequency and characteristics of somatoform disorders in patients with chronic pain. METHOD: The study took place in the psychiatric outpatient clinic of a rehabilitation hospital. Participants were interviewed using the World Health Organization Somatoform Disorders Schedule (WHO-SDS) version 2.0. Thirty new and 30 current attendees to the clinic were interviewed following referral by pain medicine specialists. RESULTS: Somatoform disorders were commonly co-morbid with chronic pain in the study population. Persistent somatoform pain disorder (PSPD) was the commonest somatoform disorder. There was a significant difference between women and men suffering from somatic autonomic dysfunction (SAD). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study confirm that somatoform disorders are common co-morbid diagnoses in patients with chronic pain. Combining psychological treatments with medication, appropriate physical treatments and attending to social issues, may indeed improve the well-being of such patients.