Treatment strategies for menstrually related migraine.

Approximately 50% of migrainous women suffer from menstrually related migraine (MRM), a type of migraine in which the attacks occur at the same time as or near the menstrual flow. Attacks of MRM tend to be longer, more intense and disabling and sometimes less responsive to treatment than non-menstrual migraines. Similar to the management of non-menstrual migraine, the use of triptans and NSAIDs is the gold standard for MRM treatment.

Acupressure in the control of migraine-associated nausea.

Migraine is a disabling neurological disorder, aggravated by accompanying symptomatology, such as nausea. One of the most interesting approaches to nausea adopted by traditional Chinese medicine is the stimulation of the acupoint PC6 Neiguan. Actually there are no studies in medical literature as to the efficacy of treating PC6 acupoint for gastrointestinal symptoms in migraine attacks.

Premenstrual syndrome and migraine.

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) includes a wide variety of physical, psychological, and cognitive symptoms that occur recurrently and cyclically during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and disappear soon after the onset of menstruation. Headache, often of migrainous type, is one of physical symptoms often reported in the diagnostic criteria for PMS. Menstrual migraine (MM) is a particular subtype of migraine occurring within the 2 days before and the 3 days after the onset of menses.

Evaluation of the use of sumatriptan-naproxen sodium for menstrual migraine and dysmenorrhea.

Menstrual migraine (MM) is a form of headache that tends to occur with prolonged, intense and extremely disabling attacks in a short period around the menstrual cycle (usually 2 days before to 3 days after the onset of the menstrual flow). At least 50% of the female migraine population suffers from this subtype of migraine. The possible presence of other perimenstrual pain, such as dysmenorrhea, can make the attacks even more disabling.

Almotriptan for menstrually related migraine.

Introduction: Approximately 50% of migrainous women associate their headache temporally to menses. Menstrually related migraine (MRM) is a disabling form of migraine characterized by attacks that are generally longer, more severe and less drug-responsive than nonmenstrual ones. Since MRM may be difficult to treat, it is important to find an appropriate treatment option for women suffering from this condition.

Ear acupuncture in the treatment of migraine attacks: a randomized trial on the efficacy of appropriate versus inappropriate acupoints.

Ear acupuncture can be a useful mean for controlling migraine pain. It has been shown that a technique called the Needle Contact Test (NCT) can identify the most efficacious ear acupoints for reducing current migraine pain through just a few seconds of needle contact. The majority of the points were located on the antero-internal part of the antitragus (area M) on the same side of pain.

Oral contraceptives in migraine therapy.

Even if sometimes combined oral contraceptives (COCs) can initiate or aggravate headaches, in particular migraine, the headaches generally tend to improve after the first months of COC use. If migraine persists, in many patients the attacks are more likely to occur during the pill-free week, and an oral contraceptive-induced menstrual migraine (OCMM) occurs. In case of OCMM, some hormonal manipulations are available, by eliminating or reducing the hormone-free interval (HFI), in order to prevent this estrogen-withdrawal headache.

Ear acupoint detection before and after hysteroscopy: is it possible to clarify the representation of the uterus on the outer ear?

Background: In the auricular maps introduced over the past 50 years by the French and Chinese schools, most organs and systems overlap consistently. One exception is the reproductive system, which shows a markedly different somatotopic representation-for example, for the uterus and the ovary.

Objective: To identify the distribution of points with increased tenderness to pressure or with reduced electrical resistance, on the outer ear of a group of women undergoing hysteroscopy.

Sumatriptan (50 mg tablets vs. 25 mg suppositories) in the acute treatment of menstrually related migraine and oral contraceptive-induced menstrual migraine: a pilot study.

Migraine attacks are common in the perimenstrual period (menstrually-related migraine, MRM) and can be particularly exacerbated by the cyclic suspension of oral contraceptives (oral contraceptive-induced menstrual migraine, OCMM). This cross-over, randomised study evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of rectal (25 mg) and oral (50 mg) sumatriptan in the treatment of 232 menstrual migraine attacks (135 MRM and 97 OCMM). Two hours after suppository administration, 72% of patients in the MRM group achieved pain relief and 24% were pain free; after tablet administration, the percentages were 66% and 27%, respectively.

Ear acupuncture in unilateral migraine pain.

The needle contact test (NCT) is a diagnostic technique useful to identify, through the contact of the needle on the skin of the ear, the most efficacious points for reducing pain during a migraine attack. The aim of this study was to identify the most important auricular zones for pain control by applying the NCT in a group of 15 women during a unilateral attack of migraine without aura. We also assessed how effective the insertion of a semi-permanent needle in these zones was in reducing the migraine pain during the next 24 h.

Non-pharmacological approach to migraine prophylaxis: part II.

Acupuncture has been used to both prevent and treat diseases for over 3,000 years. Recently, a Cochrane review on its use in migraine concluded that acupuncture is effective and should be considered as a prophylactic measure for patients with frequent or insufficiently controlled migraine attacks. In contrast, there is no clear evidence to support or refute the use of homeopathy in the management of migraine.

Non-pharmacological management of migraine during pregnancy.

Migrainous women note a significant improvement in their headaches during pregnancy. However, persistent or residual attacks need to be treated, keeping in mind that many drugs have potential dangerous effects on embryo and foetus. It is evident, therefore, that hygiene and behaviour measures capable of ensuring the best possible well-being (regular meals and balanced diet, restriction of alcohol and smoking, regular sleeping pattern, moderate physical exercise and relaxation) are advisable during pregnancy.

The risks of women with migraine during pregnancy.

Most epidemiological studies demonstrate that women suffering from migraine note a significant improvement in their headaches during pregnancy. Both headache specialists and gynecologists commonly hold that migraine does not involve any risks to either the mother, or the fetus. Despite this, recent studies into the medical complications of pregnancy in migrainous women have cast doubts on this assumption.

Headache induced by the use of combined oral contraceptives.

Although combined oral contraceptives (COCs) are a safe and highly effective method of birth control, they may also give rise to problems of clinical tolerability in migraine patients. Indeed, headache is among the most common side effects reported with the use of COCs, frequently leading to their being discontinued. The latest International Classification of Headache Disorders identified at least two entities evidently related to the use of COCs, i.

Oral contraceptives in migraine.

Combined oral contraceptives are a safe and highly effective method of birth control, but they can also raise problems of clinical tolerability and/or safety in migraine patients. It is now commonly accepted that, in migraine with aura, the use of combined oral contraceptives is always contraindicated, and that their intake must also be suspended by patients suffering from migraine without aura if aura symptoms appear. The newest combined oral contraceptive formulations are generally well tolerated in migraine without aura, and the majority of migraine without aura sufferers do not show any problems with their use; nevertheless, the last International Classification of Headache Disorders identifies at least two entities evidently related to the use of combined oral contraceptives: exogenous hormone-induced headache and estrogen-withdrawal headache.

Oral contraceptive-induced menstrual migraine. Clinical aspects and response to frovatriptan.

Oral contraceptive-induced menstrual migraine (OCMM) is a poorly defined migraine subtype mainly triggered by the cyclic pill suspension. In this pilot, open-label trial we describe its clinical features and evaluate the efficacy of frovatriptan in the treatment of its acute attack. During the first 3 months of the study 20 women (mean age 32.

Migraine and stroke: the role of oral contraceptives.

The use of oral contraceptives (OCs) confers an increased risk for ischaemic stroke (IS). This risk slightly decreases, but remains significant, if low-dose formulations are used, particularly if other risk factors, such as hypertension or smoking, are associated. Some inherited prothrombotic conditions (e.

Menstrual migraine: clinical and therapeutical aspects.

Estrogens fluctuations, particularly their premenstrual fall, are currently regarded as the main triggers of menstrual migraine (MM). MM presents in two clinical forms: pure MM, where attacks are confined to the perimenstrual period (PMP), and menstrually related migraine, where attacks always occur during, but are not confined to, the PMP. MM episodes are usually longer, more intense, more disabling and more refractory than nonmenstrual attacks.