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| |  12th Migraine Trust-DG Dispatch: Ulcer-Causing Bacteria Now Linked To Migraine Headaches LONDON, ENGLAND -- Sept. 8, 1998 -- The same bacteria that is known to cause ulcers, helicobacter pylori, could also be associated with migraine headaches, Italian researchers say. H. pylori is also suspected of being associated with vascular disorders causing coronary heart disease. In a study of 37 people who experienced confirmed migraine headache without aura, 54 percent tested positive for the bacteria. By comparison, only 14 percent of the 117 controls had the bacteria. The study was conducted at the University of Torino, Italy. Men were less likely to harbour the bacteria than women (50 percent versus 63 percent). However, women under the age of 40 who experienced migraines showed the strongest likelihood of testing positive, with fully two thirds of them harbouring the bacteria. Dr. Lidia Pavi, an internist who studies migraines in Torino explained that the study shows a link between headaches and the bacteria, but not a true cause and effect. Further studies are needed to clarify the connection, she said.
--Taking Drugs Early In Migraine Attack Most Effective, Researchers Say Taking some of the most commonly-used treatments for migraine headache -- sumatriptan, indomethicin and ergotamine -- as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms seems to offer the best chance of relieving migraine pain. The efficacy of an oral dose of sumatriptan is reduced by 70 percent if the dose is taken four hours after the onset of symptoms as compared with when it is taken within one hour following the onset of symptoms. The efficacy of a rectal suppository or sub-cutaneous/intramuscular injections of indomethicin and ergotamine decreased by 30 percent when taken four hours into the attack as compared with during the first hour. Doctors speculate that at least part of this decrease in action stems from the effect migraines have on the gastro-intestinal tract. The digestive tract stops moving, in a process known as GI stasis, so the drug may take longer to be absorbed once the attack is underway. However, this is only part of the reason, they note, because the pattern of delay, while not as significant, is still noticeable when the drug is taken sub-cutaneously or through a rectal suppository.
--Epilepsy Drug Shown Effective For Treating Migraine Sodium valproate, a drug used commonly to treat epilepsy, has been proven effective in treating migraine headaches. In a study of 100 subjects who had had migraines for up to 40 years, a New Zealand researcher found that valproate could reduce the frequency of migraine attacks by as much as 70 per cent. Perhaps more important, the subjects did not develop a tolerance to valproate, which they do for many anti-migraine drugs - and many were able to continue using the drug for a period of up to five years. Patients who stopped taking valproate during the course of the study quickly reverted to having as many migraine attacks as they did before they enrolled in the study. They also stopped having migraine attacks when they started taking valproate again.
--Kids In Single-Parent Families More Likely To Have Tension-Type Headaches The number of young children suffering from tension-type headaches and migraines is increasing and researchers say there is a connection between whether they are part of a broken home and whether they are attending school full-time. Researchers said the number of children experiencing migraines and tension-type headaches had tripled since 1989. In a study looking at 25 children under the age of five, and 25 between the ages of six and nine, investigators said the children showed no similarities in terms of complications during birth, or any developmental problems in their infant years. The only common elements that investigators were able to uncover were that the children all lived in families where one of the parents was absent, usually through divorce, and they were attending school full time.
--Frovatriptan May Target Menstrual Migraines A new anti-migraine drug with the longest half-life of any similar drug available -- or under development -- could be well-suited for women whose migraine headaches are triggered by their menstrual cycles. Alan Rapoport MD, of the New England Center for Headaches in Stamford, CT., has investigated the drug, frovatriptan, in more than 1,400 patients. Because the drug has such a long half-life -- the time it takes 50 per cent of the drug to clear the body -- it could mean patients will not have to take the drug as often and this is an important consideration for women who might experience continuous migraines over a number of days around the time of their menstrual cycles. Frovatriptan also shows a much lower rate of recurrence as compared with a placebo and Dr Rapoport speculated that this too could be a benefit of the drug's long half-life.
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