Meningismus in children with chronic headache is most likely due to streptococcal infection.

We previously found that 97% of children diagnosed with chronic tension-type headaches had meningismus. In the present study, we investigate the relationship between streptococcal infection and meningismus in children suffering from chronic headaches. Six hundred and forty children suffering from idiopathic chronic headaches were examined by a neurologist in an outpatient setting. Antistreptolysin titer (ASOT) was determined from blood samples taken from all the children. Meningismus was diagnosed in 337 patients. Patients were divided into two groups: 337 children (Group 1) with meningismus with an increased ASOT (200-1790 IU/ml) in 264 children (78%), and 303 children (Group 2) without meningismus with an increased ASOT (200-1030 IU/ml) in 117 children (39%). We report herein that a majority of children with headaches associated with meningismus, had evidence of a streptococcal infection when compared to a non-meningismus group. We postulate that streptococcal infection may play an important role in the etiology of meningismus-positive chronic headaches in children.

The assessment of radiating low back pain by thermal sensory testing.

Low back pain radiating into the legs is a common pain syndrome. However, neurological examination, imaging and electromyographic studies are of limited value for prognosis or therapy. The origin of the pain remains unknown. The aim was to evaluate the potential of thermal sensory testing to serve as a diagnostic tool in 24 patients who had low back pain radiating down the S1 dermatome, compared with 26 pain-free controls. The method of limits was used to detect the thresholds of warm sensation, cold sensation, warm pain and cold pain at the L4, L5 and S1 dermatomes of the symptomatic and the non-symptomatic legs. Thresholds on the asymptomatic leg were similar to values obtained in controls. We found a significantly higher threshold for cold sensation in the S1 dermatome of the symptomatic leg of the patients compared with the controls (p< 0.005). In addition, patients who had abnormal neurological examination (50%) had higher thresholds for cold sensation or cold pain in the three dermatomes tested at the symptomatic leg compared with the non-symptomatic leg. No differences in the thresholds of warm sensation or warm pain were detected. We propose that these findings indicate selective damage to the Adelta fibres which are involved in transmission of cold sensation and pain, presumably by root compression. We found no evidence of involvement of C fibres, which transmit warm sensation and pain. Thermal testing should be considered among the testing modalities that are capable of demonstrating objective findings in patients with radiating low back pain.

The value of muscle exercise in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The role of physical activity for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is controversial. Twenty-five ALS patients were randomized to receive a moderate daily exercise program (n=14) or not to perform any physical activity beyond their usual daily requirements (n=11). At baseline and after 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, patients were assessed by manual muscle strength testing, the Ashworth spasticity scale, ALS functional rating scale (FRS), fatigue severity scale, a visual analogue scale for musculoskeletal pain and the quality-of-life scale (SF-36). At 3 months, patients who performed regular exercise showed less deterioration on FRS and Ashworth scales, but not on other parameters. At 6 months, there was no significant difference between groups, although a trend towards less deterioration in the treated group on most scales was observed. At 9 and 12 months, there were too few patients in each group for statistical evaluation. Our results show that a regular moderate physical exercise program has a short-lived positive effect on disability in ALS patients and should be recommended.

New-onset cluster headache in middle-age and elderly women.

Cluster headache is usually considered to affect young men. We hereby report on new-onset cluster headache in middle-aged and elderly women. We performed a retrospective chart review of female patients diagnosed with cluster headache (IHS criteria), and studied the charts of women in whom the headache started after the age of 50 years. Out of 168 patients (26 women, 15%) diagnosed with cluster headache, the headache started after the age of 50 years in seven women, of whom three reported past tension-type or migraine headaches. The mean age at the beginning of the headache was 61 +/- 8 years (range 52--72 years). In all cases, the pain was severe, strictly unilateral, and accompanied by at least one autonomic symptom. The average duration of the pain was 70 min (range 20 min--3 h), recurring daily for an average period of 7 weeks (range 1--16 weeks). Five patients had 1--2 pain attacks each day, while the other two experienced up to eight episodes of pain in 1 day. In two patients the periodicity of the pain was currently undetermined. In the remainder, the headache periods recurred every 1--4 years. Cluster headache is commonly considered to be a young-male disorder, but middle-aged and elderly women may also be affected. The characteristics of the pain and its manner of occurrence were similar in our cases to those reported in the young-male population.

A history of migraine is not a risk factor to develop an ischemic stroke in the elderly.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of migraine in elderly patients hospitalized with ischemic stroke compared with vascular and nonvascular control groups. BACKGROUND: Migraine is a disease with a presumed vascular mechanism. While migraine is a common complaint of young victims of ischemic stroke, it is unclear whether a current or past history of migraine constitutes a risk factor for developing an ischemic stroke in the elderly. METHODS: We obtained current and past headache history from 100 consecutive patients hospitalized with ischemic stroke (aged 60 years or older) and compared the results with 100 patients hospitalized due to acute myocardial infarction and 100 hospitalized patients with no vascular disease. RESULTS: The sex and the age of the patients did not differ among the groups. The lifetime prevalence of migraine (8% of the patients with ischemic stroke, 8% of the nonvascular controls, and 15% of the patients with acute myocardial infarction) or of all types of headaches (27%, 30%, and 15%, respectively), did not differ significantly between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the reported history, elderly migraineurs are not at increased risk to develop ischemic stroke.

Dementia and antiphospholipid antibodies.

Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLAb) may cause both focal ischemic and diffuse brain damage and may be associated with dementia. We have examined the relationship of aPLAb to dementia in the elderly. Blood samples were obtained from 87 consecutive patients with dementia (74 +/- 11 years old) and 69 controls (78 +/- 9 years old), residents of an old age home who were not overtly demented. Levels of aPLAb were measured by a standardized ELISA, utilizing cardiolipin as antigen, and we considered levels above 20 IgG antiphospholipid units (GPLU) as significantly elevated. We found that 5 of the 87 demented patients (6%), but none of the 69 controls, had significantly elevated aPLAb levels (p = 0.03, one-tailed Fisher's exact test). All the patients with high aPLAb levels were diagnosed clinically as having dementia of the Alzheimer type, except for 1 who had mixed dementia, and none had features of an immune-mediated disease. Thus, a small but significant number of patients with dementia have high levels of aPLAb. The role of the aPLAb in these patients, with apparently diffuse brain disease, is currently unknown.

Headache after resection of acoustic neuroma.

Long-lasting severe headaches are reported to occur in up to 83% of patients who have undergone resection of acoustic neuroma, especially through a suboccipital approach. These headaches, however, are not well defined. The objective of this study was to assess the frequency and character of new-onset headaches after resection of acoustic neuroma by a suboccipital approach with cranioplasty. Review of the medical record was followed by a telephone interview with 48 patients (67% female; mean age, 52 years) who had undergone resection of an acoustic neuroma through a suboccipital craniotomy during the 2 years before the study. Of the 48 patients, 58% had post-operative head pain that lasted more than 7 days and could be categorized into two types. A moderate to severe, short-term head pain with gradual resolution occurred in 35% of the patients, and a mild, unremitting pain was reported by 23%. Both types of pain had a dull ache or pressure quality and were adjacent to or confined to the incisional area. Overall, 77% of the patients were pain-free within 4 months after operation. Age, sex, tumor size, or preoperative history of headache did not influence development of the postoperative pain. We found that new-onset headache after resection of acoustic neuroma by a suboccipital approach with cranioplasty is much less common than previously reported and is best described as mild incisional pain rather than a severe headache. The literature regarding headaches after different surgical approaches for acoustic neuroma resection is reviewed, and possible explanations for development of the pain are discussed.

Autonomic dysfunction in migraineurs.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate autonomic function and sympathovagal balance in migraineurs and healthy controls. BACKGROUND: The pathophysiology of migraine is still largely unknown. An imbalance of the autonomic nervous system could explain many of the clinical manifestations of the disorder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We undertook autonomic function tests in 17 women suffering from migraine (8 with aura) (average age 36 +/- 7 years) and 16 healthy women (average age 34 +/- 7 years). Autonomic nervous system studies consisted of tests of sympathetic function (the quantitative sudomotor axon reflex test, beat-to-beat blood pressure responses to the Valsalva maneuver, sustained handgrip, cold pressor test, and head-up tilt and tests of parasympathetic function (heart rate responses to deep breathing and the Valsalva maneuver). The data from the tilt test were further evaluated by time-frequency analysis (Wigner distribution). RESULTS: Subjects with migraine with aura had a smaller increase of mean blood pressure during phase IV of the Valsalva maneuver (P<0.05) and a lower blood pressure increment during the handgrip test (P=0.08); their time-frequency distribution showed reduced power at the nonrespiratory frequencies in the R-R interval at both minutes 1 (P<0.03) and 5 (P<0.04) of head-up tilt. Sympathovagal balance (a ratio of spectral power of nonrespiratory frequency variations in blood pressure to that at respiratory frequency variations in the R-R interval) was significantly increased in migraineurs, both with and without aura, by 10 minutes of head-up tilt. CONCLUSION: Subjects with migraine with aura had resting supine sympathetic hypofunction and intact parasympathetic function. With head-up tilt, sympathovagal balance is increased. The dynamic alterations in autonomic nervous system function may contribute to the development of aura in patients with migraine.

Fasting headache, weight loss, and dehydration.

Recently, we showed that fasting is a strong headache precipitator unrelated to coffee, tea, or smoking withdrawal or to oversleeping. In the current study, we evaluated the role of dehydration as a possible precipitator of fasting headache. The effects of a 25-hour fast of the Jewish Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) were studied in women who participated in our previous Yom Kippur study. We asked the subjects to weigh themselves at the beginning and at the end of the Yom Kippur fast, assuming that the weight loss would largely reflect dehydration. In all but 1 of the 56 participants, the fast resulted in weight loss but only 28 (50%) reported headache. The average weight loss was 1.4 +/- 0.8 kg in those who developed headache and 1.2 +/- 0.5 kg in those who did not. This small difference was not statistically significant. We conclude that dehydration, as reflected by acute weight loss, is an unlikely cause of headache during a single day of fasting. The mechanism of fasting headache remains unclear.

The hypnic ("alarm clock") headache syndrome.

Hypnic headache syndrome is a rare, sleep-related, benign headache disorder. We report 19 new cases (84% females) with follow-up data. The mean age at headache onset was 60.5 +/- 9 years (range 40-73 years). Headache awakened the patients from the night's sleep at a consistent time, usually between 1.00 and 3.00 a.m. (63%); three patients (16%) reported that identical headaches could occur also during daytime naps. Headache frequency was high, occurring more than 4 nights/week in 68% of the patients. Headache resolution occurred within 2 h in 68% of patients. Neurologic examination, laboratory studies, and brain imaging were unrevealing at the time of diagnosis. Headache severity largely remains unchanged or attenuates over time, but frequency may vary in either direction. Only one patient had spontaneous relief from headache. Four patients (24%) achieved permanent suppression of headache with medication, and two were able to abort individual headache attacks. Caffeine in a tablet or beverage was helpful in four patients. Lithium carbonate therapy caused side effects requiring cessation of treatment in four patients.

Yom Kippur headache.

Fasting is frequently mentioned by patients and in textbooks as a trigger for headache. In this study, we attempted to define the role of fasting as a possible precipitator of headache. Headache history was documented in 370 hospital employees (60% female) before and immediately after a 25-hour fast for the 1993 Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The population included 211 who fasted; 39% of fasters developed headache, compared with only 7% of nonfasters (p < 0.000001). Headache was usually of a nonpulsating quality, mild to moderate in intensity, and bilateral and frontal in location. Subjects with a history of headache were more likely to develop fasting-induced headache than were those without such history (66% versus 29%, p < 0.000002). The number of headache sufferers increased in direct relation to the duration of the fast. Caffeine and nicotine withdrawal and oversleeping did not appear to have an influence on headache development. We conclude that fasting is a strong headache precipitator, especially among chronic headache sufferers. It is usually nonpulsating and nonlateralized.

Intrauterine insemination in subfertile couples.

Forty-three subfertile women were treated by intrauterine insemination with washed sperm. Among the couples, infertility was, in 7 cases due to cervical factor infertility, in 17 cases due to subfertile sperm quality, and 19 cases, unexplained. All women ovulated: 9 spontaneously, 26 where treated with clomiphene citrate and 8 with hMG-hCG. One hundred and sixty seven inseminations were performed in 90 ovulatory cycles. Six pregnancies were recorded (14%): three pregnancies among the cervical factor infertility group (42.8%), two among the couples with low sperm quality (11.7%) and one pregnancy in the group with unexplained infertility (5.2%). Thus, it can be concluded that IUI is effective for achieving pregnancy when unfavourable cervical factor is detected. The method is of doubtful value in cases of low sperm quality or unexplained infertility.

Unaltered platelet [3H]-imipramine binding in dementia of the Alzheimer type.

High-affinity [3H]-imipramine binding to platelets was evaluated in 11 patients suffering from dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT) in comparison to 12 normal controls. The [3H]-imipramine binding values (Bmax and Kd) did not differ between the DAT patients and the controls. Previous studies have demonstrated hypofunction of central serotonergic system in this disease, including reduced imipramine binding to brain. Thus, it seems that the low imipramine binding in DAT is confined to the brain tissue and not reflected in the platelets.

Mannose-specific adherence of Escherichia coli freshly excreted in the urine of patients with urinary tract infections, and of isolates subcultured from the infected urine.

The mannose-specific adherence to yeast cells of Escherichia coli excreted in the urine of patients with urinary tract infections was compared with that of isolates from the same urine after growth of the bacteria in broth. The results revealed that although E. coli excreted in only 2 of 24 urine specimens exhibited mannose-specific adherence, about half of the broth cultures from these specimens did so. Examination of representative specimens of E. coli excreted in urine showed that coating antibodies, mannose-containing glycoproteins, and encapsulation were not responsible for the lack of the mannose-specific adherence. Our results suggest that E. coli strains that are genetically capable of exhibiting mannose-specific adherence may, when growing in the bladder, be in a phase of growth which suppresses the phenotypic expression of this trait. Mannose-specific adherence is indicative of the presence on the bacterial surface of adhesions (lectins) that bind the organisms to mannose residues on both epithelial and phagocytic cells. We propose that whereas at the initial stages of infection the bacteria may benefit from their ability to bind to mannose residues on epithelial cells, loss of this ability at the later stages of the infection is also beneficial, since the bacteria can no longer adhere to mannose residues on phagocytes, and are thus resistant to nonimmune phagocytosis.