Diagnosis and Treatment of Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension: Role of Epidural Blood Patching.

Purpose of Review: This review focuses on the challenges of diagnosing and treating spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH), a condition caused by spinal CSF leakage. It emphasizes the need for increased awareness and advocates for early and thoughtful use of empirical epidural blood patches (EBPs) in suspected cases. Recent Findings: SIH diagnosis is hindered by variable symptoms and inconsistent imaging results, including normal brain MRI and unreliable spinal opening pressures. It is crucial to consider SIH in differential diagnoses, especially in patients with connective tissue disorders. Early EBP intervention is shown to improve outcomes. Summary: SIH remains underdiagnosed and undertreated, requiring heightened awareness and understanding. This review promotes proactive EBP use in managing suspected SIH and calls for continued research to advance diagnostic and treatment methods, emphasizing the need for innovative imaging techniques for accurate diagnosis and timely intervention.

Long-Term Epidural Patching Outcomes and Predictors of Benefit in Patients With Suspected CSF Leak Nonconforming to ICHD-3 Criteria.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Spinal CSF leaks lead to spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH). While International Classification of Headache Disorders, Third Edition (ICHD-3) criteria necessitate imaging confirmation or low opening pressure (OP) for SIH diagnosis, their sensitivity may be limited. We offered epidural blood patches (EBPs) to patients with symptoms suggestive of SIH, with and without a documented low OP or confirmed leak on imaging. This study evaluates the efficacy of this strategy. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study with a nested case-control design including all patients who presented to a tertiary headache clinic with clinical symptoms of SIH who completed study measures both before and after receiving an EBP between August 2016 and November 2018. RESULTS: The mean duration of symptoms was 8.7 ± 8.1 years. Of 85 patients assessed, 69 did not meet ICHD-3 criteria for SIH. At an average of 521 days after the initial EBP, this ICHD-3-negative subgroup experienced significant improvements in Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Global Physical Health score of +3.3 (95% CI 1.5-5.1), PROMIS Global Mental Health score of +1.8 (95% CI 0.0-3.5), Headache Impact Test (HIT)-6 head pain score of -3.8 (95% CI -5.7 to -1.8), Neck Disability Index of -4.8 (95% CI -9.0 to -0.6) and PROMIS Fatigue of -2.3 (95% CI -4.1 to -0.6). Fifty-four percent of ICHD-3-negative patients achieved clinically meaningful improvements in PROMIS Global Physical Health and 45% in HIT-6 scores. Pain relief following lying flat prior to treatment was strongly associated with sustained clinically meaningful improvement in global physical health at an average of 521 days (odds ratio 1.39, 95% CI 1.1-1.79; p < 0.003). ICHD-3-positive patients showed high rates of response and previously unreported, treatable levels of fatigue and cognitive deficits. DISCUSSION: Patients who did not conform to the ICHD-3 criteria for SIH showed moderate rates of sustained, clinically meaningful improvements in global physical health, global mental health, neck pain, fatigue, and head pain after EBP therapy. Pre-treatment improvement in head pain when flat was associated with later, sustained improvement after EBP therapy among patients who did not meet the ICHD-3 criteria. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class IV evidence that epidural blood patch is an effective treatment of suspected CSF leak not conforming to ICHD-3 criteria for SIH.

Psychological Approaches for Migraine Management.

Migraine headaches are among the most prevalent and disabling pain conditions worldwide. Best-practice migraine management is multidisciplinary and includes the psychological approaches to address cognitive, behavioral, and affective factors that worsen pain, distress, and disability. The psychological interventions with the strongest research support are relaxation strategies, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and biofeedback, though the quality of clinical trials for all psychological interventions needs continued improvement. The efficacy of psychological interventions may be improved by validating technology-based delivery systems, developing interventions for trauma and life stress, and precision medicine approaches matching treatments to patients based on specific clinical characteristics.

The Molecular Basis and Pathophysiology of Trigeminal Neuralgia.

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a complex orofacial pain syndrome characterized by the paroxysmal onset of pain attacks in the trigeminal distribution. The underlying mechanism for this debilitating condition is still not clearly understood. Decades of basic and clinical evidence support the demyelination hypothesis, where demyelination along the trigeminal afferent pathway is a major driver for TN pathogenesis and pathophysiology. Such pathological demyelination can be triggered by physical compression of the trigeminal ganglion or another primary demyelinating disease, such as multiple sclerosis. Further examination of TN patients and animal models has revealed significant molecular changes, channelopathies, and electrophysiological abnormalities in the affected trigeminal nerve. Interestingly, recent electrophysiological recordings and advanced functional neuroimaging data have shed new light on the global structural changes and the altered connectivity in the central pain-related circuits in TN patients. The current article aims to review the latest findings on the pathophysiology of TN and cross-examining them with the current surgical and pharmacologic management for TN patients. Understanding the underlying biology of TN could help scientists and clinicians to identify novel targets and improve treatments for this complex, debilitating disease.

Characterization of chronic overlapping pain conditions in patients with chronic migraine: A CHOIR study.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic overlapping pain conditions (COPCs) represent a co-aggregation of widespread pain disorders. We characterized differences in physical and psychosocial functioning in patients with chronic migraine (CM) and those with CM and COPCs. BACKGROUND: Patients with CM and COPCs have been identified as a distinct subgroup of patients with CM, and these patients may be vulnerable to greater symptom severity and burden. METHODS: Data were extracted from Collaborative Health Outcomes Information Registry (an open-source learning health-care system), completed at the patients' first visit at a large tertiary care pain management center and electronic medical records. In 1601 patients with CM, the number of non-cephalic areas of pain endorsed on a body map was used to examine the differences in pain, physical and psychosocial function, adverse life experience, and health-care utilization. RESULTS: Patients endorsing more body map regions reported significantly worse symptoms and function across all domains. Scored on a t-score metric (mean = 50, SD = 10), endorsement of one additional body map region corresponded with a 0.69-point increase in pain interference (95% CI = 0.55, 0.82; p < 0.001; Cohen's f = 0.328), 1.15-point increase in fatigue (95% CI = 0.97, 1.32; p < 0.001; Cohen's f = 0.432), and 1.21-point decrease in physical function (95% CI = -1.39, -1.03; p < 0.001; Cohen's f = 0.560). Patients with more widespread pain reported approximately 5% more physician visits (95% CI = 0.03, 0.07; p < 0.001), and patients reporting adverse life events prior to age 17 endorsed 22% more body map regions (95% CI = 0.11, 0.32; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with CM and other overlapping pain conditions as noted on the body map report significantly worse pain-related physical function, psychosocial functioning, increased health-care utilization, and greater association with adverse life experiences, compared with those with localized CM. This study provides further evidence that patients with CM and co-occurring pain conditions are a distinct subgroup of CM and can be easily identified through patient-reported outcome measures.

Complex regional pain syndrome is associated with structural abnormalities in pain-related regions of the human brain.

UNLABELLED: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic condition that involves significant hyperalgesia of the affected limb, typically accompanied by localized autonomic abnormalities and frequently by motor dysfunction. Although central brain systems are thought to play a role in the development and maintenance of CRPS, these systems have not been well characterized. In this study, we used structural magnetic resonance imaging to characterize differences in gray matter volume between patients with right upper extremity CRPS and matched controls. Analyses were carried out using a whole brain voxel-based morphometry approach. The CRPS group showed decreased gray matter volume in several pain-affect regions, including the dorsal insula, left orbitofrontal cortex, and several aspects of the cingulate cortex. Greater gray matter volume in CRPS patients was seen in the bilateral dorsal putamen and right hypothalamus. Correlation analyses with self-reported pain were then performed on the CRPS group. Pain duration was associated with decreased gray matter in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Pain intensity was positively correlated with volume in the left posterior hippocampus and left amygdala, and negatively correlated with the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Our findings demonstrate that CRPS is associated with abnormal brain system morphology, particularly pain-related sensory, affect, motor, and autonomic systems. PERSPECTIVE: This paper presents structural changes in the brains of patients with CRPS, helping us differentiate CRPS from other chronic pain syndromes and furthering our understanding of this challenging disease.