1/47. ophthalmoplegic migraine and periodic migrainous neuralgia, migraine variants with ocular manifestations.The spectrum of migraine has been outlined with particular attention to two entities: ophthalmoplegic migraine and Periodic Migrainous Neuralgia. Although quite different in many respects from classical migraine, the relationship of a periodic localized vascular phenomenon giving rise to headache and transient neurologic signs, classify PMN and OPGM as migraine variants. Supportive of this concept, the literature has been reviewed in both entities, and some observations are made on the validity of earlier reports. It is the author's opinion that Raeder's syndrome should be reserved for patients with a lesion localizing in the paratrigeminal area. This does not exclude migraine as an etiologic agent but also recognizes tumors, infections and fractures as being more common.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = headache (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/47. Patient-controlled epidural analgesia for postherpetic neuralgia in an hiv-infected patient as a therapeutic ambulatory modality.A 43-year-old hiv-positive male was referred to our pain clinic one month after his fourth attack of herpes zoster infection. He complained of intermittent intolerable sharp and lancinating pain accompanied by numbness over the inner aspect of the left upper extremity, left anterior chest wall and the back. physical examination revealed allodynia over the left T1 and T2 dermatomes without any obvious skin lesion. The pain was treated with epidural block made possible by a retention epidural catheter placed via the T2-3 interspace. After the administration of 8 ml of 1% lidocaine in divided doses, the pain was completely relieved for 4 h without significant change of blood pressure or heart rate. A pump (Baxter API) for patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) filled with 0.08% bupivacaine was connected to the epidural catheter on the next day and programmed at a basal rate of 2 ml/h, PCA dose 2 ml, lockout interval 15 min, with an one-hour dose limit of 8 ml. He was instructed to report his condition by telephone every weekday. The pump was refilled with drug and the wound of catheter entry was checked and managed every 3 or 4 days. The epidural catheter was replaced every week. During treatment, the pain intensity was controlled in the range from 10 to 0-2 on the visual analogue scale. He was very satisfied with the treatment and reported only slight hypoesthesia over the left upper extremity in the early treatment period. Epidural PCA was discontinued after 28 days. He did not complain of pain thereafter but reported a slight numb sensation still over the lesion site for a period of time. In conclusion, postherpetic neuralgia in an hiv-infected man was successfully treated with ambulatory therapeutic modality of epidural PCA for 28 days.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.053756884343485keywords = back, upper, chest (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/47. Functional magnetic resonance imaging in spontaneous attacks of SUNCT: short-lasting neuralgiform headache with conjunctival injection and tearing.A 71-year-old woman presented with a short history of episodes of severe left-sided orbital and temporal pain in paroxysms lasting 60 to 90 seconds, and accompanied by ipsilateral lacrimation of the eye, rhinorrhea, and conjunctival injection. Results of clinical examination and structural imaging were normal and a clinical diagnosis of SUNCT (short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform pains with conjunctival injection and tearing) was made. The patient had a BOLD contrast-magnetic resonance imaging study in which significant activation was seen in the region of the ipsilateral hypothalamic gray, comparing the pain to pain-free state. The region of activation was the same in this patient as has been reported in acute attacks of cluster headache.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5keywords = headache (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/47. Coincidental supraorbital neuralgia and sinusitis.Headache interpreted as treatment failure may be encountered after FESS or pharmacological treatment for chronic sinusitis. This persistent symptom may lead, even in the presence of minimal sinus disease, to frequent office visits, medical treatment, primary surgery, and revision procedures. A prospective study of patients with a documented history and imaging-verified sinus disease with persistent atypical refractory headache were evaluated. Diagnostic measures included injection of local anesthetic and response to carbamazepine. Severe neuralgia of the supraorbital nerve was identified in 11 patients with chronic sinusitis, treated either medically or surgically before inclusion in the study. Eight of the patients underwent surgery for sinus disease, and five of them had revision surgery because of persisting complaints. All patients responded favorably to the local injection, and eight were treated with carbamazepine. In certain cases, headache in sinusitis patients may be caused or aggravated by supraorbital neuralgia. Sinus disease is possibly a causative factor but conceivably plays the role of a "red herring." This readily diagnosed and treated coexistence may be more prevalent than recognized formerly.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = headache (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/47. sunct syndrome responsive to gabapentin (Neurontin).A 48-year-old male suffering with SUNCT (severe unilateral neuralgiform headache with conjunctival injection and tearing, rhinorrhea and sub-clinical sweating) presented in 1996 after a 10-year history of multiple failed therapies. The symptoms included strictly left-sided ocular, as well as facial and temple pain. The pain attacks were burning, sharp, shooting and occurred 25 times daily, lasting 2 to 3 minutes with tearing and conjunctival injection. There was no associated nausea or vomiting, but there was photophobia. No other autonomic changes were reported and the pain was not triggerable. Initially Indocin (indomethacin) was tried without significant benefit. Gabapentin (Neurontin) was then started with improvement at 1800 mg per day. The patient was then lost to follow-up for 3 years, as he moved from the los angeles area. He returned in 1999 having stopped the gabapentin after his prescription ran out in 1996, reporting the pain returned immediately. Again gabapentin was prescribed and at 900 mg three times daily he has been pain free for 12 months.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = headache (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/47. Neuropathic orofacial pain. Part 2-Diagnostic procedures, treatment guidelines and case reports.Neuropathic orofacial pain can be difficult to diagnose because of the lack of clinical and radiographic abnormalities. Further difficulties arise if the patient exhibits significant distress and is a poor historian regarding previous diagnostic tests and treatments, such as somatosensory local anaesthetic blockade. Valuable information can be obtained by utilising the McGill pain Questionnaire that allows the patient to choose words that describe the qualities of his/her pain in a number of important dimensions (sensory and effective). Basal pain intensity should be measured with the visual analogue scale, a simple instrument that can evaluate the efficacy of subsequent treatments. The dentist or endodontist can employ sequential analgesic blockade with topical anaesthetics and perineural administration of plain local anaesthetic to ascertain sites of neuropathology in the PNS. These can be performed in the dental chair and in a patient blinded manner. Other, more specific, tests necessitate referral to a specialist anaesthetist at a multidisciplinary pain clinic. These tests include placebo controlled lignocaine infusions for assessing neuropathic pain, and placebo controlled phentolamine infusions for sympathetically maintained pain. The treatment/management of neuropathic pain is multidisciplinary. Medication rationalisation utilises first-line antineuropathic drugs including tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline and nortriptyline, and possibly an anticonvulsant such as carbamazepine, sodium valproate, or gabapentin if there are sharp, shooting qualities to the pain. mexiletine, an antiarrhythmic agent and lignocaine analogue, may be considered following a positive patient response to a lignocaine infusion. All drugs need to be titrated to achieve maximum therapeutic effect and minimum side effects. Topical applications of capsaicin to the gingivae and oral mucosa are a simple and effective treatment in two out of three patients suffering from neuropathic orofacial pain. Temporomandibular disorder is present in two thirds of patients and should be assessed and treated with physiotherapy and where appropriate, occlusal splint therapy. attention to the patient's psychological status is crucial and requires the skill of a clinical psychologist and/or psychiatrist with pain clinic experience. Psychological variables include distress, depression, expectations of treatment, motivation to improve, and background environmental factors. Unnecessary dental treatment to "remove the pain" with dental extractions is contraindicated and aggravates neuropathic orofacial pain.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.017981274723891keywords = back (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/47. Sudden unconsciousness during a lesser occipital nerve block in a patient with the occipital bone defect.Occipital nerve block is usually considered to be a very simple and safe regional anaesthetic technique. We describe a case of sudden unconsciousness during a lesser occipital nerve block in a patient with an occipital bone defect. A 63-year-old man complained of headache, which was localized to the right occipital region. A right lesser occipital nerve block with a local anaesthetic was performed for treatment. During the lesser occipital nerve block, the patient suddenly became disturbed and lost consciousness. Two hours after the incident, the patient was fully awake without neurological sequelae. He had previously undergone a microvascular decompression for right trigeminal neuralgia. The patient had a bone defect following craniotomy. We believed that the loss of consciousness during lesser nerve block may be due to a subarachnoid injection. Occipital nerve block is relatively contraindicated in the presence of a bone defect.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = headache (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/47. Use of endoscopic transthoracic sympathicotomy in intractable postherpetic neuralgia of the chest.Although there are various treatments for postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), none produces definitive effects. We report a case of 72-year-old woman who developed intractable PHN of the chest in which treatment with endoscopic transthoracic sympathicotomy (ETS) produced long-term effective results. When hyperesthesia of the sympathetic nerve participates in PHN, the blocking of sympathetic excitation seems to be effective for PHN suppression. The method using a single resectoscope is safe, accurate, yields excellent results cosmetically, and generates minimal invasion and very little postoperative pain. Although ETS is not always effective for all cases of PHN, it could be a useful method of treating patients with PHN that is resistant to conventional therapies.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.018599844828707keywords = chest (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/47. sunct syndrome responsive to lamotrigine.BACKGROUND: Short-lasting, unilateral, neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection, tearing, rhinorrhea (sunct syndrome) is a headache form generally refractory to drug therapy. Occasional patients with SUNCT have been reported with a successful response to lamotrigine. OBJECTIVE: To report two patients with SUNCT treated with lamotrigine. methods: Clinical history, neurologic examination, and brain magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS: Both patients with sunct syndrome were successfully treated with lamotrigine. In both cases, when lamotrigine was tapered off, the attacks reappeared, only to disappear when the dose was again increased. In addition, lamotrigine was well tolerated and no undesired side-effects were reported. CONCLUSION: If the positive effect of lamotrigine in patients with SUNCT is confirmed in other cases, lamotrigine could become the first specific treatment for sunct syndrome.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = headache (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/47. Cardiovascular complications on upper vagal rootlet section for glossopharyngeal neuralgia; case report.Acute hypotension and right bundle-branch block occurred when the authors sectioned the uppermost rootlet of the vagus nerve in a case of glossopharyngeal neuralgia. hypotension lasted for 20 minutes and arrhythmia for 4 days. A possible mechanism is discussed and cardiovascular disorders are reviewed in similar cases.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.080139101634631keywords = upper (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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