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Chronic daily headache (CDH) is an important problem for clinicians. It is frequent in tertiary care structures, although at present there is no clear consensus about definitions and operational criteria. In fact, CDH is a group of headache disorders that includes chronic migraine (CM). CDH usually evolves from an episodic headache form, which was migraine in most cases. Several psychopathological factors (e.g. psychiatric comorbidity, personality traits or stressful life events) and some somatic disorders (e.g. like arterial hypertension, allergic condition, sleep disturbances) are frequent in CM patients. Caffeine consumption, alcohol overuse and medication overuse (abortive drugs for migraine) could favour chronicity. The possible role of these factors remains poorly understood. Prospective studies and research about the pathophysiology of chronic pain will lead to a better understanding of CM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migraine, particularly migraine with aura (MA), may be a risk factor for ischemic stroke (IS). The reasons for this association are unknown. We investigated the presence of genetic abnormalities of the protein C system in 83 MA patients, 31 IS patients, and 124 healthy controls, all aged under 45 years. We found an increased frequency of activated protein C resistance due to Arg5O6Gln factor V mutation, and of protein S deficiency in both disorders, with figures higher than those reported in the general population and significantly different from those found in controls. These prothrombotic genetic abnormalities may be shared risk factors in IS and MA, and may play a role in increasing the risk of cerebrovascular disease in migraineurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although triptans are highly effective for the acute treatment of migraine, sustained pain-free rates-considered the optimal end-point-are in the range of 18%-27% for all triptans in clinical trials. A recently proposed strategy for treating migraine attacks is that triptans should be given early, when the pain is mild, rather than moderate or severe. Studies with different triptans have shown that early intervention can result in higher pain-free rates, together with reductions in rescue medication use and recurrence rates. However these studies suffer from methodological pitfalls: most were retrospective analyses of trials not designed to evaluate the benefit of early intervention; the definition of “early” differed from study to study; and placebo effects were not correctly evaluated. Furthermore, the disadvantages of this strategy in clinical practice, particularly the risk of medication overuse, have not been evaluated. We propose that only patients with particularly severe migraines and in whom attacks are always characterised by rapid progression of pain and other symptoms, should be advised to take a triptan as early as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migraine, particularly migraine with aura, is a risk factor for ischaemic stroke. The mechanisms underlying this association are obscure. One hypothesis is that shared risk factors may be the cause of this association. Over the last decade, studies have suggested an association between migraine and genetic abnormalities in coagulation factors which play an important role in stroke pathogenesis. Although the results of studies on various prothrombotic conditions are conflicting, findings suggest a higher frequency of some genetic abnormalities in migraine with aura patients. Thus, persistent hypercoagulability may explain the tendency for these patients to develop thromboembolic cerebrovascular events, especially when they are exposed to additional procoagulant stresses. Further studies on larger samples are required to test this hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]