Acid reflux and head and neck cancer risk: A nationwide registry over 13 years.

Objective: Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a highly prevalent disorder; however, important questions remain regarding the link between GERD and extra-esophageal cancers. This nationwide cohort study investigated the risk of developing head and neck cancers (HNCs) among patients with GERD.

Methods: Newly diagnosed GERD patients aged ≥20 years without antecedent cancer were included.

Treatment and prognosis of subdural hematoma in patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension.

Objective: The objective of this article is to elucidate the outcome, prognostic predictors and timing of surgical intervention for subdural hematoma (SDH) in patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH).

Methods: Patients with SDH were identified retrospectively from 227 consecutive SIH patients. Data were collected on demographics, clinical courses, neuroimaging findings, and treatment of SDH, which was later divided into conservative treatment, epidural blood patches (EBP), and surgical intervention.

Reduced functional connectivity between salience and visual networks in migraine with aura.

Background: Migraine with visual aura (MA) is associated with distinct visual disturbances preceding migraine attacks, but shares other visual deficits in between attacks with migraine without aura (MO). Here, we seek to determine if abnormalities specific to interictal MA patients exist in functional brain connectivity of intrinsic cognitive networks. In particular, these networks are involved in top-down modulation of visual processing.

Recurrence of reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome: a long-term follow-up study.

Objective: We aimed to investigate whether reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) could recur and to identify the potential predictors of recurrence in a large cohort of patients.

Methods: This study followed a cohort of 210 patients with RCVS in a hospital-based headache center from 2000 to 2012. All patients were regularly followed up by telephone after remission for RCVS and were particularly asked to return to our hospital immediately if they developed new acute, severe (i.

Cerebrospinal fluid leakage and headache after lumbar puncture: a prospective non-invasive imaging study.

The spatial distribution and clinical correlation of cerebrospinal fluid leakage after lumbar puncture have not been determined. Adult in-patients receiving diagnostic lumbar punctures were recruited prospectively. Whole-spine heavily T2-weighted magnetic resonance myelography was carried out to characterize post-lumbar puncture spinal cerebrospinal fluid leakages.

Validation of an Alzheimer's disease assessment battery in Asian participants with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

There is a lack of validated tools for assessing Alzheimer's disease (AD) across Asia. This study evaluates the psychometric properties of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog), Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD), and Neuropsychological Test Battery (NTB) in Asian participants. Participants with mild to moderate AD (n=251) and healthy controls (n=51) from Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea completed selected instruments at several time points.

Increased risk of Bell palsy in patients with migraine: a nationwide cohort study.

Objective: To evaluate the association between migraine and Bell palsy and to examine the effects of age, sex, migraine subtype, and comorbid risk factors for Bell palsy.

Methods: This nationwide cohort study was conducted using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Subjects aged 18 years or older with neurologist-diagnosed migraine from 2005 to 2009 were included.

Proton pump inhibitor use represents an independent risk factor for myocardial infarction.

Background: There is substantial debate regarding the development of acute coronary syndrome in patients using proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) combined with clopidogrel. However, data remain limited to address the effect of PPIs alone on the subsequent risk of myocardial infarction (MI). We aimed to explore the subsequent risk of MI in PPI users who had no previous history of MI.

Reduced circulating endothelial progenitor cells in reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome.

Background: The pathophysiology of reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) remains elusive. Endothelial dysfunction might play a role, but direct evidence is lacking. This study aimed to explore whether patients with RCVS have a reduced level of circulating circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) to repair the dysfunctional endothelial vasomotor control.

The impacts of migraine and anxiety disorders on painful physical symptoms among patients with major depressive disorder.

Background: No study has simultaneously investigated the impacts of migraine and anxiety disorders on painful physical symptoms (PPS) among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). The study aimed to investigate this issue.

Methods: This open-label study enrolled 155 outpatients with MDD, who were then treated with venlafaxine 75 mg per day for four weeks.

Increased myo-inositol level in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in migraine patients with major depression.

Background: Although the comorbidity between migraine and major depressive disorder (MDD) has been recognized, the pathophysiology remains unclear. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is a well-known neural substrate for MDD. We investigated the relationship between brain metabolites in DLPFC and comorbid MDD in migraine patients.

Increased risk of urinary calculi in patients with migraine: a nationwide cohort study.

Objective: Whether migraine is associated with urinary calculi is an unresolved issue, although topiramate, a migraine-preventive agent, is known to contribute to this complication. This study investigates the association between migraine and the risk of urinary calculi.

Methods: We identified a total of 147,399 patients aged ≥18 years with migraine diagnoses recorded in the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database between 2005 and 2009.

Analysis of curricular reform practices at Chinese medical schools.

Background: A comprehensive search of the literature published between 2001 and 2010 was performed to gain a greater understanding of curricular reform practices at Chinese medical schools.

Summary: There were 10,948 studies published between 2001 and 2010 that were retrieved from the database. Following preliminary screening, 76 publications from 49 different medical schools were selected.

Pharmacological treatment of depression with and without headache disorders: an appraisal of cost effectiveness and cost utility of antidepressants.

Background: Depression and headache are highly prevalent in clinical settings. The co-occurrence of headache may impact choice of antidepressants, healthcare utilisation, and outcomes in patients with depression. The current study aims to examine the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of different antidepressants for treating patients with depression and comorbid headache disorders.

Treatment adherence among new triptan users: a 2-year cohort study in Taiwan.

Background: The persistence of triptan use among newly prescribed users is low in the United States and European countries. However, triptan refill patterns in Asian primary care practices have not been well described.

Methods: Data from the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan were used to conduct a retrospective cohort analysis from 2005 to 2008.

Risk of meningioma in patients with head injury: a nationwide population-based study.

Background: Head injury has been suggested to correlate with meningioma. However, results of studies investigating the relationship between head injury and meningioma were inconsistent. Therefore, we conducted this study to assess the association between head injury and meningioma, and to determine the possible risk factors.

Altered hypothalamic functional connectivity in cluster headache: a longitudinal resting-state functional MRI study.

Background: Neuroimaging studies implicate hypothalamic dysfunction in the pathogenesis of cluster headache (CH). Disruptions in non-traditional pain processing areas, including the cerebellum and visual cortex, have also been reported in CH. It is unknown whether the hypothalamus interacts significantly with these areas, and whether any such interactions vary between the 'in-bout' and 'out-of-bout' periods in CH.

Hypnic headache: a review of clinical features, therapeutic options and outcomes.

Background: Hypnic headache (HH), first reported in 1988, is a rare sleep-related headache disorder. In 2013 a new diagnostic criteria was proposed for HH in the International Classification of Headache Disorders, the third version beta (ICHD-3β).

Purpose: This review aimed to update the clinical characteristics, therapeutic options and clinical outcomes in patients with HH and also validate the new diagnostic criteria.

Extensive molecular genetic survey of Taiwanese patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Identification of genetic mutations has been of burgeoning importance in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in recent years. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and spectrum of mutations in major ALS-causing genes in a Taiwanese ALS cohort of Han Chinese origin. Mutational analyses of the SOD1, TARDBP, FUS, OPTN, VCP, UBQLN2, SQSTM1, PFN1, HNRNPA1, and HNRNPA2B1 genes were carried out by direct sequencing in 161 unrelated patients with ALS, including 30 with familial ALS (FALS) and 131 with sporadic ALS (SALS).

ABCA7 gene and the risk of Alzheimer's disease in Han Chinese in Taiwan.

The ATP-binding cassette, subfamily A, member 7 gene (ABCA7) was recently identified as a susceptible gene of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the Caucasian population and African Americans. To test its genetic effect in the Han-Chinese population, 536 AD cases and 307 cognitive-intact, elder controls were genotyped for ABCA7 rs3764650 and apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε2/ε3/ε4 alleles. Global cognitive performance was assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination in both AD patients and controls.

Proton pump inhibitor-related headaches: a nationwide population-based case-crossover study in Taiwan.

Background: Headaches resulting from proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use could cause discontinuation of PPI in as many as 40% of patients who experience such headaches. Previous studies focusing on acute headache risk from PPI use are rare and limited to clinical trials of a single PPI.

Objectives: To investigate the association between PPI use and headache with a nationwide population-based case-crossover study.

A snapshot of the status of problem-based learning (PBL) in Chinese medical schools.

Introduction: In North America, where it was born, problem-based learning (PBL) has seen dips and rises in its popularity, but its inherent strengths have led to its spread to medical schools all over the world. Although its use at medical schools in some Western countries has already been examined, no one has looked at its status in many other countries, including China. The aim of this study is to determine the number of schools currently using PBL in China, the degree to which they use it, and the reasoning behind such usage.