Acupuncture in cluster headache: four cases and review of the literature.

Although cluster headache (CH) is the most disabling form of primary headache, little evidences regarding alternative and complementary therapies are available. Only few dated studies and some isolated cases are described. We describe four patients with CH treated with acupuncture as a preventive treatment, combined with verapamil or alone. All patients received acupuncture treatment twice/week for 2 weeks, then once/week for 8 weeks, and then once/alternate weeks for 2 weeks. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine the acupoints selected were: Ex HN-5 Taiyang, GB 14 Yangbai (both only on the affected side), GB 20 Fengchi (on both sides), LI 4 Hegu, LR 2 Xingjiang, SP 6 Sanyinjiao, ST 36 Zusanli (all on both sides). At each point, after the insertion of the needle, the feeling of "De Qi" was evoked; after obtaining this sensation the acupoints were not further stimulated for a period of 20 min, until their extraction. In all patients an interruption of cluster attacks was obtained. To our knowledge, this is the first report concerning acupuncture in CH patients which details the protocol approach, acupoints and duration of the treatment. Our results offer the opportunity to discuss the emerging role of acupuncture in the therapy of CH, assuming a possible influence on opioid system.

Naproxen sodium in short-term prophylaxis of pure menstrual migraine: pathophysiological and clinical considerations.

We investigated the biological and clinical effects of naproxen sodium (NxS) in the short-term prophylaxis of pure menstrual migraine (PMM) in 25 women suffering from migraine without aura, occurring exclusively from 2 days before to 5 days after menstruation onset. Daily oral NxS (550 mg) from 7 days before menstruation to 7 days after menstruation onset was given for 3 menstrual cycles, and 5 days before menstruation to 5 days after menstruation onset over the next 3 menstrual cycles. In the month before initiation of treatment and in the third month of treatment, 6-keto-PGF1(alpha), TXB(2) and PGE(2) were measured in plasma before menstruation (day -2) and on the second day (day +2) after bleeding onset. In the 20 women analysed, 6-keto-PGF1(alpha) was 17% lower (p<0.0001) and TXB(2) was 30% lower (p<0.0001) on day -2 during treatment than the same day pretreatment; TXB(2) was also lower (p<0.02) on day +2 during treatment than day +2 pretreatment. The 6-keto-PGF1(alpha)/TXB(2) ratio was higher (p<0.01) on day -2 treatment than day -2 pretreatment. PGE(2) levels were significantly lower (p<0.002) on day +2 than pre-treatment values on the same day. The number of attacks reduced from 1.7+/-0.11 pretreatment to 1.2+/-0.10 at the 3rd month (p<0.001), to 1.1+/-0.06 at the 6th month (p<0.0001). The duration reduced from 25.6+/-4.42 h pretreatment to 15.5+/-4.43 h in the 3rd month (p<0.02), to 13.35+/-4.26 h in the 6th month (p<0.001). The intensity reduced from 2.4+/-0.11 pretreatment, to 1.2+/-0.10 in the 3rd month of treatment (p<0.0001), and 1.1+/-0.07 in the 6th month (p<0.0001).