[Medication-overuse headache]. / Hoofdpijn door overgebruik van pijnmedicatie.

- Medication-overuse headache is a highly prevalent disorder with a major impact on the quality of life.- Medication-overuse headache is defined as headache on ≥ 15 days per month with overuse of acute headache medication for ≥ 3 months. We talk about overuse in case of intake of simple analgesics on ≥ 15 days per month or triptans or combinations of analgesics on ≥ 10 days per month.- The underlying type of headache is usually migraine or tension-type headache.- One of the possible underlying mechanisms of medication-overuse headache is changed sensitivity as a consequence of central sensitisation.- The initial treatment is detoxification of the headache medication. The preferred detoxification method is outpatient, abrupt withdrawal of all acute-headache medication and caffeine-containing products. Essential for successful detoxification is education about the reasons for detoxification, the expected course and the subsequent treatment.

Cauda Equina Syndrome: presentation, outcome, and predictors with focus on micturition, defecation, and sexual dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Even though micturition, defecation, and sexual function are substantially affected in cauda equina syndrome (CES), data on outcome are scarce. METHODS: Medical files of patients operated on lumbar herniated disc were screened for CES and retrospectively analyzed for baseline characteristics, outcome of micturition, defecation, and sexual function and possible predictors. RESULTS: Seventy-five CES patients (52% men) were included with a mean age of 44 years. L5-S1 was the most common affected level. Duration of CES complaints at presentation was, on average, 84 h (median 48 h). Prevalence of symptoms at presentation: sciatica (97%), altered sensation of the saddle area (93%), micturition dysfunction (92%), and defecation dysfunction (74%). Only 26 patients were asked about sexual dysfunction of whom 25 patients experienced dysfunction. Female gender was associated with more defecation dysfunction at presentation than male gender (OR 4.11; p = 0.039). All patients underwent decompressive surgery. Two post-operative follow-up (FU) moments took place after a mean of 75 h and 63 days. Outcomes at second FU moment: micturition dysfunction 48%, defecation dysfunction 42%, sexual dysfunction 53%, sciatica 48%, and altered sensation of the saddle area 57%. A shorter time to decompression was associated with more sciatica at FU 1 (p = 0.042) which effect had disappeared at FU 2. CONCLUSION: This study is unique in (1) displaying the presenting features in a large cohort of CES patients, (2) demonstrating that recovery after decompression is slow and far from complete in the majority of patients with regard to micturition, defecation, and sexual function and (3) evaluating predictors for outcome.

Detoxification in medication-overuse headache, a retrospective controlled follow-up study: Does care by a headache nurse lead to cure?

AIM: J.A.P. and M.A.L. contributed equally to this manuscript.The aim of this article is to determine whether support by a headache nurse in the treatment of medication-overuse headache (MOH) increases successful withdrawal, and to study determinants of response to withdrawal therapy. METHODS: A retrospective, controlled follow-up study was performed with 416 MOH patients. All patients were treated with outpatient withdrawal therapy, with two treatment arms: with or without the support of a specialised headache nurse. The outcome measures were: i) successful withdrawal, defined as discontinuation of all headache medication according to the study protocol; and ii) the responder rate, defined as the percentage of patients with ≥ 50% reduction in headache days after successful withdrawal and iii) relative reduction in headache days after successful withdrawal. RESULTS: Successful withdrawal percentages were significantly higher in the group supported by the headache nurse than in the group without support (73.1% vs. 60.7%; p = 0.008), which was confirmed in multivariate analysis (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.11-2.71, p = 0.016). Support by a headache nurse was not associated with response. The underlying primary headache diagnosis, determined after withdrawal, was significantly correlated with response. CONCLUSION: The support by a headache nurse results in an increased adherence to detoxification.

Symptom dimensions of affective disorders in migraine patients.

OBJECTIVE: A strong association has been established between migraine and depression. However, this is the first study to differentiate in a large sample of migraine patients for symptom dimensions of the affective disorder spectrum. METHODS: Migraine patients (n=3174) from the LUMINA (Leiden University Medical Centre Migraine Neuro-analysis Program) study and patients with current psychopathology (n=1129), past psychopathology (n=477), and healthy controls (n=561) from the NESDA (Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety) study, were compared for three symptom dimensions of depression and anxiety. The dimensions -lack of positive affect (depression specific); negative affect (nonspecific); and somatic arousal (anxiety specific)- were assessed by a shortened adaptation of the Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (MASQ-D30). Within the migraine group, the association with migraine specific determinants was established. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS: Migraine patients differed significantly (p<0.001) from healthy controls for all three dimensions: Cohen's d effect sizes were 0.37 for lack of positive affect, 0.68 for negative affect, and 0.75 for somatic arousal. For the lack of positive affect and negative affect dimensions, migraine patients were predominantly similar to the past psychopathology group. For the somatic arousal dimension, migraine patients scores were more comparable with the current psychopathology group. Migraine specific determinants for high scores on all dimensions were high frequency of attacks and cutaneous allodynia during attacks. CONCLUSION: This study shows that affective symptoms in migraine patients are especially associated with the somatic arousal component.