Relationship between MIDAS, depression, anxiety and alexithymia in migraine patients.

The co-existence of psychiatric comorbidities with migraine is well known; however, the relationship between alexithymia and migraine has not been persuasively shown yet. The aim of the study was to assess the relationships between migraine-related disability, depression, anxiety and alexithymia. One hundred and forty-five migraine patients (33.18 ± 8.6; 111 females, 34 males), and 50 control subjects (29.06 ± 7.6; 34 females, 16 males) were prospectively enrolled for the study. The participants completed a demographic data form and Migraine Disability Assessment Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory and Toronto Alexithymia Score-20 (TAS-20). All migraine patients were more depressive (p = 0.01) and anxious (p = 0.001) than the healthy subjects. TAS-20 scores of the migraine sufferers and the control group did not indicate alexithymia. The migraine-related disability of all migraine patients was severe (27.84 ± 29.22). Depression and anxiety scores in the migraine patients were highly correlated with each other and TAS-20 (r = 0.485, p = 0.001) and all its subscales in turn: difficulty in identifying (r = 0.435, p < 0.001) and describing feelings (r = 0.451, p = 0.001) and externally oriented thinking (r = 0.302, p = 0.001). Moreover, logistic regression analysis revealed that depression and anxiety predicted alexithymia. Our findings showed a complex relationship between migraine, depression, anxiety and alexithymia. On the other hand, alexithymia apparently was not directly connected to migraine, but its presence could be predicted in migraine patients because of co-morbid depression and anxiety.

A single-center retrospective study of onabotulinumtoxinA for treatment of 245 chronic migraine patients: survey results of a real-world experience.

Preventive treatment in migraine is associated with poor adherence and persistence. In this observational study, our first aim was to evaluate the perceived effectiveness of onabotulinumtoxinA based on our chronic migraine (CM) patients' treatment experience. The second purpose of this study was to determine the compliance with onabotulinumtoxinA treatment in our cohort. Third, we assessed the reasons for withdrawal from treatment in our CM patients. A total of 245 consecutive patients with CM (40.43 ± 10.15 years; 214 females, 31 males) were treated with at least one onabotulinumtoxinA. Data were collected by a standardized interview over the telephone. One-hundred and eighty patients were willing to answer questions about: (1) perceived effectiveness of onabotulinumtoxinA based on their treatment experience; (2) the current continuity of the treatment; (3) their current migraine-related disability; and (4) their current medication usage. The mean number of onabotulinumtoxinA cycles of all patients and the participants were 2.58 and 2.90, respectively. Of the 180 participants, 149 patients (82.8%) thought that onabotulinumtoxinA was effective in controlling their headaches. The mean score for perceived effectiveness of onabotulinumtoxinA treatment given by the participants was as 6.94 ± 2.4 (on a scale from 0 to 10). Of the 245 treated subjects, 31 (12.6%) were treated for 12 months. Compliance rates with onabotulinumtoxinA were very low in our population. However, even CM patients who did not complete five cycles of the treatment showed marked improvement of their current migraine-related disability and reduction of their medication intake as compared to baseline.

Cocaine-induced multifocal leukoencephalopathy mimicking Balo's concentric sclerosis: A 2-year follow-up with serial imaging of a single patient.

Cocaine abuse may cause stroke, metabolic or multifocal inflammatory leukoencephalopathy. We described a patient with cocaine abuse who presented with Balo's type acute multifocal leukoencephalopathy. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the brain showed onion like patchy concentric ring enhancement on T1-weighted MRI with gadolinium. Balo's Concentric Sclerosis like radiological findings related to cocaine has not been reported. Levamisole is now frequently used as an ingredient in cocaine and may cause leukoencephalopathy. It is recommended to check urine levamisole levels in patients with cocaine-induced leukoencephalopathy with or without mimicking Balo's Concentric Sclerosis. On the other hand, it is also possible that the cocaine use was coincidental and this was a demyelinating case arising de novo in patient who uses cocaine.

Assessment of early cognitive impairment in patients with clinically isolated syndromes and multiple sclerosis.

Objective. The aim of our study was to investigate the frequency and pattern of cognitive impairment in patients with clinically isolated syndromes and definite diagnosis of multiple sclerosis within the last 2 years. Methods. We assessed the cognitive status of 46 patients aged 18-49 years with clinically isolated syndromes or definite diagnosis of multiple sclerosis who have onset of their symptoms within the last 2 years. Patients were matched with 40 healthy participants for age, sex, and educational level. Neuropsychological assessment was performed by stroop test, paced auditory serial addition test (PASAT), controlled oral word association test (COWAT), clock drawing test, trail making test (TMT), faces symbol test (FST). Hamilton Depression Scale and Modified Fatigue Impact Scale were used to quantify the severity of any depression and fatigue the subjects might suffer. Results. 19.6% of early MS/CIS group failed at 4 and more tests and had significant cognitive impairment focused on attention, executive functions, memory, and learning. No significant relationship was found between cognitive impairment and disability and fatigue scores. Discussion. Cognitive impairment can be present from the earliest stage of multiple sclerosis. It should be considered among the main manifestations of MS even in the earliest stages of the disease.

Botulinum Toxin in Migraine Treatment.

Since botulinum toxin might have a therapeutic effect on pain, many studies investigating the efficiency of botulinum toxin in headache treatment have been done. The most satisfying results were achieved by botulinum toxin type A (BoNT/A) in the treatment of chronic migraine. In this paper, we reviewed the clinical effectiveness of BoNT/A in migraine and included our clinical experience. In our ongoing pilot study, where we have repeated BoNT/A injections every 12 weeks, The difference in the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) scores between the first and the second injections was 61.1%; and between the first and the 3rd injections was found to be 65.72%.