Overview on effectiveness of erenumab, fremanezumab, and galcanezumab in reducing medication overuse headache in chronic migraine patients.

BACKGROUND: Migraine is a disabling primary headache disorder with socioeconomic burden. Medication overuse headache (MOH) is caused by chronic overuse of symptomatic drugs often observed in migraine patients. The approved for migraine prevention CGRP antagonists erenumab, fremanezumab, and galcanezumab are effective in migraine prophylaxis but there are only few data regarding efficacy on MOH. AIM OF THE STUDY: To assess efficacy of erenumab, galcanezumab, and fremanezumab in reducing headache in patients with chronic migraine complicated by medication overuse headache. METHODS: Patients fitting International Classification of Headache Disorders 3rd Edition criteria for chronic migraine and MOH were enrolled and treated with CGRP antagonists without performing drug withdrawal. Efficacy was assessed by improvement of Migraine Impact and Disability Assessment Scale (MIDAS) and reduction of monthly use of symptomatic medications. Patients reporting a ≥ 50% reduction of monthly headache days and ≥ 50% reduction of analgesic and/or triptan use compared with a 3-month baseline period were defined as responders. RESULTS: Three hundred three patients, 252 females and 51 males, were enrolled. Patients were treated for at least 6 months up to 1 year. Two hundred forty-two out of 303 (80%) showed both a ≥ 50% reduction of monthly headache days and analgesics intake at 3-month follow-up visit compared to the 3-month baseline period; 239 on 303 (78.8%) continued to have ≥ 50% improvement in both at 6-month follow-up visit. CONCLUSION: Monoclonal antibodies inhibiting CGRP are effective in reducing monthly headache days in migraine patients with MOH.

Diagnosis and treatment of Chiari malformation and syringomyelia in adults: international consensus document.

BACKGROUND: Syringomyelia and Chiari malformation are classified as rare diseases on Orphanet, but international guidelines on diagnostic criteria and case definition are missing. AIM OF THE STUDY: to reach a consensus among international experts on controversial issues in diagnosis and treatment of Chiari 1 malformation and syringomyelia in adults. METHODS: A multidisciplinary panel of the Chiari and Syringomyelia Consortium (4 neurosurgeons, 2 neurologists, 1 neuroradiologist, 1 pediatric neurologist) appointed an international Jury of experts to elaborate a consensus document. After an evidence-based review and further discussions, 63 draft statements grouped in 4 domains (definition and classification/planning/surgery/isolated syringomyelia) were formulated. A Jury of 32 experts in the field of diagnosis and treatment of Chiari and syringomyelia and patient representatives were invited to take part in a three-round Delphi process. The Jury received a structured questionnaire containing the 63 statements, each to be voted on a 4-point Likert-type scale and commented. Statements with agreement <75% were revised and entered round 2. Round 3 was face-to-face, during the Chiari Consensus Conference (Milan, November 2019). RESULTS: Thirty-one out of 32 Jury members (6 neurologists, 4 neuroradiologists, 19 neurosurgeons, and 2 patient association representatives) participated in the consensus. After round 2, a consensus was reached on 57/63 statements (90.5%). The six difficult statements were revised and voted in round 3, and the whole set of statements was further discussed and approved. CONCLUSIONS: The consensus document consists of 63 statements which benefited from expert discussion and fine-tuning, serving clinicians and researchers following adults with Chiari and syringomyelia.

Headache attributed to IIH: clinical evolution in IHS criteria through the years.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a condition characterized by increased intracranial pressure without a detectable cause. The most common symptom of IIH is a headache, which occurs in almost all cases at the time of diagnosis with various headache phenotypes. In clinical practice, diagnosis of headache attributed to IIH is given referring to the International Headache Society (IHS) criteria of the International Classification of Headache Disorders. In the present publication, we consider how the IHS diagnostic criteria for headache attributed to intracranial idiopathic hypertension have evolved through the years.

Cost of medication overuse headache in Italian patients at the time-point of withdrawal: a retrospective study based on real data.

The objective was to assess the cost of Medication Overuse Headache (MOH) at the time-point of withdrawal treatment. We implemented a protocol in which both direct and indirect cost were directly gathered from patients and referred to the previous three months. Direct costs were calculated by medications for acute treatment and prophylaxis, diagnostic procedures, visits, complementary treatments, informal care. Indirect costs were referred to missed workdays and workdays with reduced productivity: we asked patients to refer their salaries and to rate the overall level of performance in days worked with reduced productivity, and we calculated indirect costs on this basis. A total of 135 patients were enrolled: direct costs were around 415€/month; indirect costs were 530€/month, and were mostly due to presenteeism (350€, 66.3%) rather than to absenteeism (160€, 33.7%). Our data showed higher cost than those of a previous study: this is likely due to a different approach to cost definition, to the inclusion of direct non-medical cost, and of non-pharmacological treatments.

Chiari malformation-related headache: outcome after surgical treatment.

The outcome of headache in a series of 135 operated CM1 is presented. Favorable results were obtained in 85% of atypical and 93% typical headache with the support of a multidisciplinary approach that restricted the indications for surgery.

Chiari malformation type 1-related headache: the importance of a multidisciplinary study.

Chiari type 1 Malformation (CM 1) is a structural defect consisting of a displacement of the cerebellar tonsils through the foramen magnum causing obstruction of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) outflow. CM 1 has a variety of presentation with headache being the most common symptom. The evaluation and treatment of headache related to CM 1 are often difficult, because the pain in the occipital-suboccipital region or headache that is of cough-type suggests symptomatic CM 1, but patients suffering from CM 1 can also report migraine or tension-type headache. In 2015 we started a collaborative project in which our group of neurologists, neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists contribute to create a Chiari Special Outpatient Service; this was set up to provide a multidisciplinary evaluation, treatment and follow-up of patient suffering from CM 1. 201 patients (58 males, 143 females) suffering from CM 1 were multidisciplinary evaluated. Headache characteristics, clinical features, and treatment of patients are discussed. Further progress in multidisciplinary care of headache and CM 1 should be performed to define guidelines.

Impact of obesity and binge eating disorder on patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Background Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is associated with obesity, and obesity is associated with binge eating disorder (BED). The aim of this paper is to address the presence and impact of BED in patients undergoing an IIH diagnostic protocol. Methods This was a cross-sectional study. Consecutive patients suspected of IIH underwent neurological, neuro-ophthalmologic and psychological examinations, neuroimaging studies and intracranial pressure (ICP) measurements through lumbar puncture in the recumbent position. IIH diagnosis was based on International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd Edition criteria; BED diagnosis was based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition criteria. The presence of oligoclonal bands (OCBs) in the cerebrospinal fluid was also assessed. Results Forty-five patients were enrolled: 33 were diagnosed with IIH and five of them (15%) were obese with BED. Compared to non-obese patients, those who were obese, and particularly those who were obese with BED, were more likely to have an IIH diagnosis (χ2 = 14.3; p = 0.001), ICP > 200 mmH2O (χ2 = 12.7; p = 0.002) and history of abuse or neglect (χ2 = 11.2; p = 0.004). No association with OCBs was found. Conclusions We reported for the first time the presence of BED among patients with IIH and showed that BED is associated to IIH, ICP and history of abuse or neglect.

Predictors of 12-Months Relapse After Withdrawal Treatment in Hospitalized Patients With Chronic Migraine Associated With Medication Overuse: A Longitudinal Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Studies addressing relapse rates conflate relapse into chronic migraine (CM) and medication overuse (MO), and the consequent need to repeat withdrawal. We aim to identify 12-months predictors of relapse into CM (based on headaches frequency) separately from occurrence of another structured withdrawal. METHODS: Hospitalized patients with CM-MO under withdrawal were enrolled. Candidate predictors included demographic, disability, quality of life, depression scores, general self-efficacy, social support, headaches frequency and intensity, class of overused medications, history of withdrawal treatment in the three years prior to enrollment, attendance to emergency room (ER) between enrollment and follow-up, nonattendance to outpatient neurological examinations. Logistic regressions was used to address the significant predictors for the two outcomes. RESULTS: Complete data were available for 177 patients: 60 (33.9%) relapsed into CM, 38 (21.5%) underwent another withdrawal treatment. Recent history of withdrawal treatments, ER admission after discharge and high baseline BDI-II scores were significant predictors in both models. In addition to this, high baseline headache frequency predicted relapse into another withdrawal treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Predictors or relapse into CM and of occurrence of another withdrawal by 12-months are somehow similar. It is important to assess presence of recent previous withdrawal treatments and to plan regular follow-up afterwards, in particular for patients with high headache frequency and relevant mood disturbances: in this way, it will be more likely that situations requiring further structured withdrawal treatments can be identified before patients have to refer to ER.

Early (≤ 1-h) vs. late (>1-h) administration of frovatriptan plus dexketoprofen combination vs. frovatriptan monotherapy in the acute treatment of migraine attacks with or without aura: a post hoc analysis of a double-blind, randomized, parallel group study.

The early use of triptan in combination with a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug after headache onset may improve the efficacy of acute migraine treatment. In this retrospective analysis of a randomized, double-blind, parallel group study, we assessed the efficacy of early or late intake of frovatriptan 2.5 mg + dexketoprofen 25 or 37.5 mg (FroDex 25 and FroDex 37.5) vs. frovatriptan 2.5 mg alone (Frova) in the acute treatment of migraine attacks. In this double-blind, randomized parallel group study 314 subjects with acute migraine with or without aura were randomly assigned to Frova, FroDex 25, or FroDex 37.5. Pain free (PF) at 2-h (primary endpoint), PF at 4-h and pain relief (PR) at 2 and 4-h, speed of onset at 60, 90, 120 and 240-min, and sustained pain free (SPF) at 24-h were compared across study groups according to early (≤1-h; n = 220) or late (>1-h; n = 59) intake. PF rates at 2 and 4-h were significantly larger with FroDex 37.5 vs. Frova (early intake, n = 71 FroDex 37.5 and n = 75 Frova: 49 vs. 32 % and 68 vs. 52 %, p < 0.05; late intake, n = 20 Frodex 37.5, and n = 18 Frova: 55 vs. 17 %, p < 0.05 and 85 vs. 28 %, p < 0.01). Also with FroDex 25, in the early intake group (n = 74) PF episodes were significantly higher than Frova. PR at 2 and 4-h was significantly better under FroDex 37.5 than Frova (95 % vs. 50 %, p < 0.001, 100 % vs. 72 %, p < 0.05) in the late intake group (n = 21). SPF episodes at 24-h after early dosing were 25 % (Frova), 45 % (FroDex 25) and 41 % (FroDex 37.5, p < 0.05 combinations vs. monotherapy), whereas they were not significantly different with late intake. All treatments were equally well tolerated. FroDex was similarly effective regardless of intake timing from headache onset.

Are depressive symptomatology, self-efficacy, and perceived social support related to disability and quality of life in patients with chronic migraine associated to medication overuse? Data from a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Chronic migraine with medication overuse (CM-MO) impairs quality of life (QoL) and causes disability. Psychosocial variables such as depressive symptomatology, self-efficacy, and social support have been sparingly investigated, and their impact on disability and QoL is unknown. METHODS: Patients with CM-MO under withdrawal were consecutively enrolled. Standardized measures of disability and QoL were used as outcomes; psychosocial (ie, mood state, self-efficacy, social support) and clinical (ie, headache frequency and intensity) variables were considered as associated variables. Associations between these variables, disability, and QoL were tested with Pearson's correlations. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to assess the cumulative contribution of psychosocial variables on disability and QoL variation when added to clinical variables. RESULTS: One hundred ninety-four patients were enrolled; 82.5% were females and mean age was 43.9. Disability and QoL were moderately or little correlated to clinical and psychosocial variables. Models based on clinical variables explained 7.5-14.3% of disability and QoL variation, with pain intensity being the only significant predictor; when psychosocial variables were added, the explained variation increased to 21.5-35.2%, with depressive symptomatology always having independent predictive power and perceived social support having independent predictive power in the regression model over role-prevention component of QoL. CONCLUSIONS: Adding information on psychosocial variables to headache features improved our ability to understand disability and QoL of CM-MO patients. We deem that the inclusion of psychosocial variables in standard evaluation protocols may contribute to the global assessment of CM-MO patients, and eventually to their success in reducing the personal and social impact of this condition. Future longitudinal studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis.

Chronic migraine with medication overuse: association between disability and quality of life measures, and impact of disease on patients' lives.

Patients with chronic migraine with medication overuse (CM-MO) have decreased quality of life (QoL) and increased disability: the degree to which these outcomes are connected to disease severity and the pattern of MO towards disease severity are unclear. Patients under withdrawal were administered the Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS), the WHO Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS), and the Migraine-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MSQ). They overused NSAIDs, triptans, NSAIDs and triptans, and other drugs (ergotamine, caffeine, opioids/barbiturates). We calculated the correlations between MIDAS, WHODAS, and MSQ; compared WHODAS to normative scores; compared MIDAS, WHODAS, and MSQ in patients with different CM-MO severity; and run a logistic regression to predict CM-MO severity based on overused drugs. One hundred ninety-four patients were enrolled: correlations between WHODAS, MSQ, and MIDAS were moderate; wide differences on WHODAS against normative were found; and no trend was found across severity groups. Compared to triptans overusers, patients overusing NSAID and other drugs had higher odds of severe CM-MO. Coupling different disability measures with QoL assessment offered different insights on the lived experience of CM-MO. Future studies are needed to clarify the relationship between overused drugs and CM-MO severity: we added evidence that NSAIDs do not have protective effect in high-frequency CM-MO.

Efficacy of early vs. late use of frovatriptan combined with dexketoprofen vs. frovatriptan alone in the acute treatment of migraine attacks with or without aura.

Early triptan use after headache onset may help improve the efficacy of acute migraine treatment. This may be particularly the case when triptan therapy is combined with a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). The objective of this is to assess whether the combination of frovatriptan 2.5 mg + dexketoprofen 25 or 37.5 mg (FroDex25 and FroDex37.5) is superior to frovatriptan 2.5 mg alone (Frova) in the acute treatment of migraine attacks in patients who took the drug within 30 min from the onset of pain (early use) or after (late use). A total of 314 subjects with a history of migraine with or without aura were randomized into a double-blind, multicenter, parallel group, pilot study to Frova, FroDex25 or FroDex37.5 and were required to treat at least one migraine attack. In the present post hoc analysis, traditional migraine endpoints were compared across study drugs for subgroups of the 279 patients of the full analysis set according to early (n = 172) or late (n = 107) drug use. The proportion of patients pain free at 2 h in the early drug use subgroup was 33 % with Frova, 50 % with FroDex25 and 51 % with FroDex37.5 mg (p = NS combinations vs. monotherapy), while in the late drug use subgroup was 22, 51 and 50 % (p < 0.05 FroDex25 and FroDex37.5 vs. Frova), respectively. Pain-free episodes at 4 h were 54 % for early and 34 % for late use of Frova, 71 and 57 % with FroDex25 and 74 and 68 % with FroDex37.5 (p < 0.05 for early and p < 0.01 for late use vs. Frova). The proportion of sustained pain free at 24 h was 26 % under Frova, 43 % under FroDex25 mg and 40 % under FroDex37.5 mg (p = NS FroDex25 or 37.5 vs. Frova) in the early drug intake subgroup, while it was 19 % under Frova, 43 % under FroDex25 mg and 45 % under FroDex37.5 mg (p < 0.05 FroDex25 and FroDex37.5 vs. Frova) in the late drug intake subgroup. Risk of relapse at 48 h was similar (p = NS) among study drug groups (Frova: 25 %, FroDex25: 21 %, and FroDex37.5: 37 %) for the early as well as for the late drug use subgroup (14, 42 and 32 %). FroDex was found to be more effective than Frova taken either early or late. The intrinsic pharmacokinetic properties of the two single drug components made FroDex combination particularly effective within the 2-48-h window from the onset of the acute migraine attack. The efficacy does not seem to be influenced by the time of drug use relative to the onset of headache.

Validating the Migraine-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire v2.1 (MSQ) in Italian inpatients with chronic migraine with a history of medication overuse.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study is to assess validity, reliability and factor structure of the Italian version of Migraine-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire v2.1 (MSQ) in patients suffering from chronic migraine (CM) with a history of medication overuse (MO). METHODS: Patients were enrolled at hospital admission for withdrawal from MO. Factor analysis was used to confirm the latent structure of the MSQ. Reliability was measured with Cronbach's alpha coefficient, item-total correlation and inter-item correlation. Construct validity was assessed with Pearson's coefficient and known-group analysis. RESULTS: The three-factor structure is basically confirmed. Cronbach's alpha varied between 0.85 and 0.92; item-total correlations were on average higher than 0.70; average inter-item correlation ranged between 0.63 and 0.65. Correlations were all significant; known-group analysis shows that MSQ score was lower consistently with disease severity. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirm the factor structure, reliability and validity of the MSQ and expand results of previous validation studies to the Italian language and to a group of patients with severe CM requiring withdrawal treatment for MO.