Long-term occipital nerve stimulation for drug-resistant chronic cluster headache.
Cephalalgia
; 37(8): 756-763, 2017 Jul.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27250232
ABSTRACT
Introduction Chronic cluster headache is rare and some of these patients become drug-resistant. Occipital nerve stimulation has been successfully employed in open studies to treat chronic drug-resistant cluster headache. Data from large group of occipital nerve stimulation-treated chronic cluster headache patients with long duration follow-up are advantageous. Patients and methods Efficacy of occipital nerve stimulation has been evaluated in an experimental monocentric open-label study including 35 chronic drug-resistant cluster headache patients (mean age 42 years; 30 men; mean illness duration 6.7 years). The primary end-point was a reduction in number of daily attacks. Results After a median follow-up of 6.1 years (range 1.6-10.7), 20 (66.7%) patients were responders (≥50% reduction in headache number per day) 12 (40%) responders showed a stable condition characterized by sporadic attacks, five responders had a 60-80% reduction in headache number per day and in the remaining three responders chronic cluster headache was transformed in episodic cluster headache. Ten (33.3%) patients were non-responders; half of these have been responders for a long period (mean 14.6 months; range 2-48 months). Battery depletion (21 patients 70%) and electrode migration (six patients - 20%) were the most frequent adverse events. Conclusions Occipital nerve stimulation efficacy is confirmed in chronic drug-resistant cluster headaches even after an exceptional long-term follow-up. Tolerance can occur years after improvement.
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Terapia por Estimulação Elétrica
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Cefaleia Histamínica
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
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Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Adult
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Aged
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article