A Study on Headache in an Island Area of Korea

BACKGROUND: Headache is one of the most common disorders, and shows ethnic or geographic diversities. Moreover, the prevalence and epidemiologic characteristics of headache, especially in people living in an island area, is lacking. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence and subtypes of headache in an island area of Korea. METHODS: We collected the demographic and clinical data of all residents living in the survey island area. A neurologist interviewed 352 respondents in a face-to-face method. The specific headache diagnosis was based on the diagnostic criteria of the International Headache Society. RESULTS: The survey island area represented a typical aging society like that of a rural area in Korea. Tension-type headache was the most common type. The prevalence of migraine, tension-type headache, and other headache were 4.0%, 7.1%, and 1.7%, respectively. Migraine with aura occupied 1.7% and migraine without aura occupied 2.3%. Episodic tension-type headache occupied 6.5% and chronic tension-type headache occupied 0.6%. Migraine showed a peak prevalence below the third decade of age and tension-type headache showed a peak prevalence above the sixth decade. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a characteristic pattern of the prevalence of headache in an island area of Korea. We thought this low prevalence of headache might be due to not only subject age but also social-environmental factors. This study may be helpful in understanding headaches and can provide some basic information for future studies.

The Psychological Characteristics of the Patients with Tension-Type Headache: Using MMPI

BACKGROUND: The investigations of personality traits have been the issue of many studies on patients with tension-type headache. However, there was few comparison study of personality traits between the patients with episodic tension-type headache (ETTH) and chronic tension-type headache (CTTH) using Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). METHODS: The study was consecutively made of the personality profiles of two groups with ETTH (137 patients) and CTTH (115 patients) in accordance with the International Headache Society (IHS) criteria, employing the MMPI. RESULTS: The two groups could be classified into three clusters by a multivariate cluster analysis, which are relatively normal profile (cluster I), somatic profile (cluster II, elevated Hs-D-Hy scales), and psychosomatic profile (cluster III, elevated Pa-Pt-Sc-Si and Hs-D-Hy scales). The proportion of the patients with CTTH in the psychosomatic profile group was stastically more significant (59.6%) than that of the patients with ETTH (40.4%) by a chi-square test. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the psychosomatic profile might be more common in the CTTH patients than in the ETTH patients.

Headache Epidemiologic Study in Ansan City, Kyunggi-Do, Korea

BACKGROUND: Although headaches are one of the most common discomfort worldwide, our understanding of headache distribution is incomplete. Moreover, epidemiologic studies on headache in Korea have not yet gone beyond finding mere prevalence. Therefore, this study not only aims to find the prevalence, subtypes of headache, but also the relationship between headache and such factors as socio-economic variables, demographics, life-styles among randomly selected Korean people. METHODS: In a face-to-face manner, trained personnel interviewed one thousand five subjects. The subtypes of headache included migraine, tension-type headache, mixed headache and unclassified headache. Furthermore, socio-economic features, demographics and life-styles were analyzed in each subgroup with logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The prevalence of headache was 58.3%. Those with migraine, tension-type headache, and mixed headache were 12.3%, 44.3%, and 5.2%, respectively. Women (odds ratio [OR] 2.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.91-3.30), negative perception about their health (OR 7.16, CI 1.59-32.18), and young age groups (OR 3.32, CI 2.03-5.42, when the group before 30-year-old was compared to the group after 61-year-old) had higher prevalence of headache. In respect of migraine and tension-type headache, women (OR 0.42, CI 0.22-0.78) and positive family history of headache (OR 2.13, CI 3.14-3.66) had more migraine. Migraineurs were more common among women (OR 6.04, CI 3.14-11.61) and young age groups (OR 17.42, CI 4.64-65.46) compared to non headache-sufferers. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed the prevalence and epidemiologic characteristics of headache and its subtypes in Korea.

Expression of Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor mRNA in Transient Cerebral Ischemic Model of Gerbil Mouse

BACKGROUND: Brain-derlved neurotrophic factors(BDNF) is critically involved in development and maintenance of the central and peripheral nervous system and the expression of its mRNA increases after various insults such as ischemia. If one takes the protective role of BDNF into consideration, it would be important to understand the mechanism of induction in BDNF mRNA. Although previous reports suggested the relationship between activation of N-methy]-D-aspartate(NMDA) receptor and induction of BDNF mRNA following ischemic insult, the mechanism is not clearly understood. METHODS: In this experiment, in situ hybridization was used to study expression of mRNA for c-fos, heat shock protein 72, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the gerbil brain after 15 minutes of forebrain ischemia as well as with MK801 pretreatment before ischemia. RESULTS: Transient ischemic insult caused the induction of c-fos and heat shock protein 72 mRNA expression which partially blocked by MK801 within 24 hours after reperfusion. From 30 minutes to 4 hours after the reperfusion, the level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA was increased in the granule cells of the dentate gyrus. In addition, the increase of BDNF mRNA was not influenced by NMDA receptor antagonist, MK801. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of BDNF mRNA after acute ischemia could be induced not by NMDA receptor related intracellular calcium change, but by some other factors which requires further effort to be solved. Finally, if the changes of mRNA expression lead to alterations in the relative availability of BDNF, this might influence functional outcome and necrosis following ischemia.