Symptomatic or prophylactic treatment of weekend migraine: an open-label, nonrandomized, comparison study of frovatriptan versus naproxen sodium versus no therapy.

BACKGROUND: Migraine often occurs during weekends. The efficacy of frovatriptan, naproxen sodium, or no therapy for the acute or prophylactic treatment of weekend migraineurs was tested in an open-label, nonrandomized pilot study. METHODS: Twenty-eight subjects (mean age 36 ± 12 years, including 18 females) suffering from migraine without aura were followed up for six consecutive weekends. No treatment was administered during the first two weekends. On the third and fourth weekends, patients were given frovatriptan 2.5 mg and on the fifth and sixth weekends naproxen sodium 500 mg. Treatment was taken on Saturday and Sunday morning, regardless of the occurrence of migraine. Efficacy was evaluated through a diary, where patients reported the severity of migraine on a scale from 0 (no migraine) to 10 (severe migraine) and use of rescue medication. RESULTS: The migraine severity score was significantly lower with frovatriptan (4.8 [95% confidence interval (CI) 3.8-5.9]) than with naproxen sodium (5.7 [CI 5.1-6.4], P< 0.05 versus frovatriptan) or no therapy (6.6 [6.2-7.0], P< 0.01 versus frovatriptan). The difference in favor of frovatriptan was more striking in patients not taking rescue medication (frovatriptan, 1.9 [1.5-2.3]) versus naproxen sodium 3.6 [3.0-4.2], P< 0.001) and versus no therapy (5.1 [4.4-5.8], P< 0.001) and on the second day of treatment. The rate of use of rescue medication was significantly (P< 0.05) lower on frovatriptan (12.5%) than on naproxen sodium (31.3%) or no therapy (56.3%). CONCLUSION: This pilot study provides the first evidence of the efficacy of a second-generation triptan as symptomatic or prophylactic treatment for weekend migraine.

Rehabilitation improves dyskinesias in Parkinsonian patients: a pilot study comparing two different rehabilitative treatments.

GOAL AND OBJECTIVES: The present study was devised: (a) to test whether an intensive (60 hours in 4 weeks) multidisciplinary rehabilitation treatment (involving physiotherapy, exercises to improve gait and balance using treadmill and stabilometric platform, occupational therapy) for Parkinsonian patients is effective in improving dyskinesia and motor performance compared to a control group undergoing a non-intensive non multidisciplinary rehabilitation treatment (30 hours in 4 weeks involving physiotherapy only); and (b) to verify whether rehabilitation may lead to a reduction in levodopa dosage. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty Parkinsonian patients suffering from dyskinesias were admitted to study: 20 for an intensive multidisciplinary (Group1) and 20 for a non-intensive non multidisciplinary rehabilitation treatment (Group2). The rating scales used for the clinical evaluation were: Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scales (UPDRS) II, III, IV, Parkinson's disease disability scale (PDDS), Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS). RESULTS: All outcome measurements improved in both groups of patients, but patients Group1 presented better results: UPDRS II was reduced by 33% in Group1 and by 22% in Group2, UPDRS III 29% vs. 22%, UPDRS IV 74% vs. 10%, PDDS 18% vs. 12%, and AIMS 71% vs. 8%. A different behaviour was observed for levodopa dosage at baseline and after treatment: dosage decreased by an average value of 210 mg (p< 0.0001) in Group1 and was virtually unchanged (30 mg reduction, p=0.08) in Group2. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that a rehabilitation protocol should be considered as a valid non-invasive therapeutic support for patients who show dyskinesias and that there are better results when the treatment is intensive.

Involvement of the spinal cord in Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) has traditionally ascribed to alpha-synucleinopathy of the substantia nigra; however, several studies have showed widespread alpha-synucleinopathy inside and outside the brain. The potential role of the spinal cord in the genesis of some symptoms has been quite neglected despite the frequent and precocious presence of alpha-synucleinopathy in the spinal cord of PD patients. We examined the literature about the pathology of the spinal cord in PD and the possible relevance of this pathology in the genesis of some nonmotor symptoms including urinary, sexual, and gastrointestinal, as well as of some motor symptoms.