Pine bark extract for migraine
January 3, 2007 6:07 pm
Researchers are jumping on the pine bark extract band wagon, and they just may be onto something. Pine bark extract is made from the bark of a European pine called the Landes Pine, which grows in the Landes region of France. Pine bark extract is an antioxidant, and has also been used as an anti-inflammatory (especially for arthritis and PMS). The Stanford University School of Medicine is studying pine bark extract's use for high blood pressure. Heart disease and stroke are targets for this alternitive treatment. Looking at this combination, you might be asking,"What about migraine?"
That's the question New Zealander Larry Stenswick began asking, when a friend taking his pine bark extract supplement noticed a reduction in migraine attacks. Griffiths University in Australia is interested in taking on the project, and is planning to start trials this year. Will this be a valuable alternative treatment for migraineurs, or not?
Either way, pine bark extract has a good enough track record to be getting a lot of attention. At the University of California, Berekeley, they found Pycnogenol to be the most potent antioxident, even prolonging the use of vitamin C in the body and helping the immune system. The extract seems to be very safe as well. Has anyone out there tried it for migraine? It just may be the supplement of 2007...
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Headaches, migraine and depression
January 11, 2007 9:21 am
A new study is expanding our understanding of the links between headaches, migraine and depression. The study was published in the January 9th edition of Neurology, on research led by Gretchen Tietjen, a neurologist at the Ohio's University of Toledo Health Science Campus. In simple terms, the study found that women with chronic headache or migraine are more likely to be depressed. But look at some of these numbers:
Women with chronic headaches are 4x more likely to have symptoms of major depression than women with episodic (ie once-in-a-while) headaches.Women with chronic headache were 3x more likely to report other headache-related symptoms (could it be that they just notice the connection more?)Women with severely disabling migraine and related symptoms were 32x more at risk for major depression
I'm sorry, could you repeat that last one? 32x?! Now of course the debate is always - do the symptoms contribute to the depression, is the depression contributing to the symptoms, or is there a third cause that's contributing to both (perhaps a combination of the three). But whatever approach you take, let's just face facts - there's a connection, especially when it comes to migraine (when you compare this study with others).
There comes a time to stop placing blame, ignoring the problem or putting down people who suffer from depression. According to this aricle on the depression study, the World Heath Organization predicts that by 2020 depression will be the world's biggest killer after heart disease! Whether it means getting the help of friends or family, talking to your doctor, or just evaluating your life and assumptions about the world, action need to be taken, whether you know someone who has depression or you have it yourself. It's not just an "imaginary" problem, and it can be disabling and deadly.
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Intranasal Zolmitriptan for Cluster
January 16, 2007 6:02 pm
As you may know, the triptan class of drugs not only benefit those with migraine, but also those with cluster. Cluster, most commonly hitting men, usually causes an intense, boring stabbing headache that comes and goes several times a day. The search is on for better treatments. Meanwhile, various types of triptans are being tested. The November issue of Neurology reported on a study of Intranasal Zolmitriptan (funded by the makers of Zomig, of course). The study was hopeful, though not exactly overwhelming.
The obvious benefit of Zomig in a nasal spray is that it's fast - it gets into your system quickly, something that's all the more important for those with cluster. The study tried a placebo as well as 2 different doses of Zomig - 5mg or 10mg. 10mg was most effective - 80% of those with episodic cluster (that's pretty good) and 36% of those with chronic cluster (that's not too bad - chronic cluster is nasty, the cycle goes on and on instead of stopping for months or years). The smaller dosage gave 47% or 28% of sufferers relief. But the placebo gave 30% or 14% of people some relief (that's pretty good for a placebo!).
That sounds ok, although it makes you wonder when the placebo has such good results (for those who don't know, you need to know what a placebo is). This also wasn't necessarily complete recovery, but just a reduction to mild (or no) pain. Finally, we still don't know how effective this treatment will be over time - more studies are needed for that.
Calling all clusterheads - have you tried triptans? What have you found to be most effective? How effective was the treatment? I would be very interested to hear your comments.
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That drug's hidden ingredients
January 24, 2007 6:25 pm
It seems like almost every week there's a news story. It's a new version of the same old drug - but somehow it's better (take the last post on Intranasal Zolmitriptan, for example). Or cheaper, because it's generic and not brand name. Is it all just hype? Is an aspirin an aspirin? Or do all these brand names and extra ingredients really make a difference?
The answer is yes. And no. It's true, oftentimes you can get a generic version of the same drug, and it will be just as good as the original. But that isn't always the case. Sometimes that extra ingredient in the drug can make all the difference. It may mean that the drug will absorb into your system in time, when otherwise it wouldn't. Or, in some cases, you may be allergic to that extra ingredient - and one version of the drug may make you sick, and another may make you better.
You readers of HeadWay may recognize by now that this was the topic of the most recent issue. But I decided to highlight it again here, both for those who don't get the newsletter, and for those who may get it but didn't take the time to read it carefully. It's not an easy topic, and it's not always a very interesting topic. But there are some of you out there that have tried drugs and then written them off, without realizing that the main ingredient may not be the problem. A different version of that same drug may still be the answer for you.
You won't find all the answers in the January edition of HeadWay. But it will make you aware of some of the drug delivery issues - those little ingredients that may be keeping you from a successful treatment. And in the future you will be more empowered to figure out why a specific drug is or isn't working for you. It's important enough that I wanted to highlight it again, in hopes that it may lead a few of you to finally find a solution.
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Treatment for hot flashes
January 30, 2007 7:24 pm
Hot flashes. Many women treat these symptoms of menopause with estrogen. That's all very well, but some women find that the estrogen is causing them more migraine attacks - and that means jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. Continuous estrogen therapy has been the best for some migraine sufferers. But others still can't get free of the migraine attacks. But a Canadian-led study, published in the January issue of Clinical Science, may have a solution.
The answer may actually be a 40 year old treatment. Medroxyprogesterone, a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone, was found to be just as effective and safer than estrogen. In the one year study, there was no evidence that the treatment caused blood clots, breast cancer, or migraine attacks. This doesn't mean help to alleviate migraine, just that the treatment will not cause attacks.
The author of the study was Dr. Jerilynn Prior, professor of endocrinology at the University of British Columbia. She says,"As a doctor who takes care of women who have very bad hot flashes, the good news is that those with migraine headaches ... now they have an equally effective choice."
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