Comorbidity of migraine and epilepsy

A relationship between epilepsy and migraine has long been postulated, but the nature of this interaction is still debated. We used epidemiological approach to investigate the comorbidity between both disorders through studying 200 epileptic patients and 200 of the first-degree relatives of them as a control group. The mean age [ +/- SD] for the patients was 28.84 +/- 7.95 and that of the relatives was 43.9 +/- 14.1. We found 33 migraine patients among the epileptic patients and 21 migraine patients among the relatives [prevalence rates were 16.5%, 10.5% respectively]. The mean age for the epileptics with migraine was 25.3 +/- 7.95 and that for relatives with migraine was 45.41 +/- 13.61. Migraine with aura formed 18% and 14.3% of the epileptic migraineurs and relatives with migraine respectively. Abnormal EEGs formed 63.6% in epileptic patients with migraine and 28.6% in relatives with migraine. Cumulative incidences of migraine [ +/- SE] by age 40 years were17.9 +/- 1.1 in the patients with migraine and 11.3 +/- 5.7 in relatives with migraine. We used Cox proportional hazards analysis to compute some epilepsy-related variables in relation to migraine. Migraine risk was higher in epileptic patients with history of head trauma than idiopathic epileptics; partial seizures had higher risk than generalized [RR = 1.18]; positive family history than negative [RR = 2.79]; onset before 10 years than after 20 years [RR = 2.5]

Correlation between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines and meningeococcal meningitis disease

Progress in improving the out come of meningiococal meningitis may stem as much from newer development in the management of the pathophysiologic consequences of the disease as from the introduction of new generation of antimicrobial agents. Aspects of the host response to infection such as the release of cytokines may be contributing to the high morbidity of the disease; Serum levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF alpha] and interleukin 6 [IL-6] and anti-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin 10 [IL-10] were measured in twenty two patients of meningiococal meningitis and matched control subjects. These patients were divided into two groups according to clinical and laboratory investigation; group I: meningitis without septic shock [n= 17] and group II: meningitis with shock [n5 5]. The concentration of inflammatory cytokines' were significantly increased in patients in comparison to control group [P<0.001]. The serum levels of TNF alpha and IL-6 were significantly higher [P<0.001] in group II patients but the serum levels of IL-10 were the same in patients of both groups at time of admission and after four days. The mean serum levels changes of inflammatory cytokines were significantly high in group I patients [P<0.001] and insignificant in group II patients at time of admission and after four days. It is concluded that inflammatory cytokines are simultaneously increased and are strongly associated with severity of the disease