Athletes, sleep and your advice
October 5, 2006 7:56 am
Dr Jeffrey Kutcher and his team are looking into the brains of athletes. Kutcher is concerned that athletes are more prone to nerve and brain problems. It's not just a matter of getting your head banged around - although that is a concern. We've written before about concerns that many athletes return to the game too soon after head trauma, which could lead to post-traumatic migraine (PTM) among other things.
But the heat of competition and the physical exertion can make other problems worse, such as sleep disorders and migraine (which often go together, come to think of it). Not only could sleep problems emerge, a lack of sleep could bring on migraine attacks.
At the University of Michigan, Kutcher and his colleagues have launched the NeuroSport program, designed to help athletes dealing with these types of neurological conditions and others.
When it comes to major sleep disorders, a doctor can offer some very helpful treatment options. If you're just having trouble sleeping when headache or migraine strikes, check out the advice of our visitors on the topic - Getting to sleep with migraine (and be sure to leave your advice on a new topic). In the blogosphere, Wind Lost writes about recent struggles with caffeine, sleep and chronic headache.
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Large study links IBS with migraine
October 6, 2006 10:18 pm
A large study by J. Alexander Cole and his team shows a definite link between Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and migraine. The study included almost 125,000 people, some with IBS and some without. The question was simply, how many of those people also have migraine, depression, or fibromyalgia?
We've known for a long time that fibromyalgia, depression and IBS seem to be linked to migraine. But a study this large had the potential to prove the connection more than ever before - and it did. IBS sufferers were 60% more likely to have migraine than the control group, 40% more likely to suffer from depression, and 80% more likely to suffer from fibromyalgia. There's no doubt that there's a connection - but what is it?
Dr Reza Shaker of the Medical College of Wisconsin says rightly,"Clinical observations of patients with pain syndromes indicate that we are dealing with a syndrome bigger than a single organ." He notes the increased neurological sensitivity in many patients, which may be the clue that leads to the common cause. Dr Harrison Pope from Harvard Medical School suggests that there may be a genetic root cause. Neither of these suggestions should surprise migraineurs.
If you want all the technical details, read the abstract of this study here: Migraine, fibromyalgia, and depression among people with IBS: a prevalence study
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The problem with press releases
October 12, 2006 8:42 am
It's a simple point that bears repeating - be cautious about getting information about migraine from press releases. Thanks to Teri Robert for pointing this blog entry out from Abi's Migrainous Wanderings. In Be skeptical of Migraine info in press releases!, Abi gives an example of a press release that leaves the impression that medical techniques can cure migraine.
I say it leaves the impression because that's not actually what it says. But the problem is not only that it leaves the impression, but the way that press release may be treated in the media. A press release that says,"New hope for migraine sufferers" soon becomes "new hope for a cure" which becomes "medical breakthrough cures migraine". When you get back to the original story, you find it was just an over-optimistic small study. I've heard it in our local news, and you've probably heard it in yours (or worse, heard a friend ask you why you haven't tried the new "cure"!).
Sometimes press releases are excellent. Other times, they're simply put out by a company trying to sell a product - maybe a good product, maybe an old product, maybe a bad product. So take what you read with a grain of salt. Thanks, Abi, for the reminder!
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Alka-Seltzer Gold for migraine?
October 18, 2006 7:56 am
I've heard from more than one place that a quick fix to the stomach can often lead to a quick migraine fix. Dr. Robert Milne has found in his practice that some patients can find relief from a migraine triggered by certain foods. The trick? Simply dissolve two tablets of Alka-Seltzer Gold in a glass of water, and drink.
Alka-Seltzer Gold contains the antacids sodium citrate and potassium citrate, specially treated sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, and citric acid. Notice that, unlike the original Alka-Seltzer, it doesn't contain any aspirin. So it seems that the effect on the stomach is somehow stopping the symptoms before they get too far.
Alka-Seltzer works to neutralize stomach acid via chemical reaction. There are other antacids that are not based on sodium bicarbonate, such as Tums (calcium based), Amphojel (aluminum based) and Rolaids (a combination of ingredients).
Do you have a similar story? Leave a comment!
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Migraine sign-posts in the brain
October 23, 2006 7:37 am
Researchers from Harvard Medical School completed an interesting study on migraine and certain changes in the brain cortex. Researchers are always looking for large sign-posts that will show that someone has migraine, or that will point to an underlying cause. Because we know so little about the brain, our current technology can only show us so much, and often seems to "miss" the tiny changes that we know are there but just can't see.
The researchers found that, using certain imaging techniques, they were able to see a difference in the brains of those with migraine. They found that there was a thickening of two parts of the brain cortex. It was the same with patient that had migraine with aura, and migraine without.
Visual sign-posts like this could give us a way to better diagnose migraine. More importantly in the long term, they could give us clues about the cause and effect of migraine.
Researchers are speculating about what this may mean. One part of the brain that had a change was the Lateral geniculate nucleus, which processes information from the eyes. Could this explain why migraineurs have visual problems - sometimes even when they're not having an attack? Are there more similarities than we thought between migraine with aura and migraine without? Further research into the brain may answer some of these questions.
Read all the details of this study entitled Anatomical Alterations of the Visual Motion Processing Network in Migraine with and without Aura.
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Acupressure bands
October 30, 2006 6:54 am
I have long been curious about those little wrist bands sold in the local drugstore. The claim is that they reduce travel sickness, or really nausea in general. Do they work? And how?
From the research, the answer seems to be sometimes and ... well, how they work is a matter of debate.
The idea is that a small bead pushed on an acupressure point in your wrist. That's about all there is to it. Very attractive because the price is low, it's not invasive and doesn't involve drugs, and you can buy them all over the place. I'm familiar with the Travel Eze Wristbands , but there are also stylish wrist bands and even Anti-nausea Acupressure Bands for Children .
They may be cheap, but we know that with so many options we can't waste our money on all of them. How do these really work is the question it comes down to.
A small study in 2003 was done with cancer patients who used the acupressure bands and stimulation bands (which puts out a mild electrical pulse) (through the University of Rochester Medical Center). The study found that many people found them helpful, but only those people who expected them to work. Those who didn't got no benefit.
Now I'd like to see what happens if people didn't have expectations either way - that would be the real test. So I don't think this "proves" that there's only a placebo effect here. But it does seem to point in that direction.
In the end, the nausea relief was not dramatic anyway. Then again, other tests done have shown that these wrist bands are a measurable help. So I leave it up to you whether or not to give them a try. If you've noticed a major improvement, prove me wrong by leaving a comment.
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