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Biomedical subjects

A B Caminero

Publications and source records attributed to A B Caminero.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

[Experience with intranasal zolmitriptan in cluster headache].

INTRODUCTION: The objective is to analyse our experience with the new intranasal formulation of zolmitriptan 5 mg in the symptomatic treatment of cluster headache in daily clinical practice. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We collected a total of 18 patients with cluster headache and experience with intranasal zolmitriptan; 17 had used subcutaneous sumatriptan and 8 oral triptans. The main reasons for trying intranasal zolmitriptan were: poor tolerability in 12 patients and insufficient efficacy in 6. RESULTS: Among the 17 patients experienced in subcutaneous sumatriptan, 12 (71 %) preferred nasal zolmitriptan, 2 (18 %) subcutaneous sumatriptan and 2 (12 %) did not express any preference. The reasons for preferring intranasal zolmitriptan were: higher convenience (n = 6), better tolerability (n = 5), lower price (n = 2) and higher efficacy (n = 1). Seven out of the 8 patients who had taken oral triptans preferred nasal zolmitriptan, in all cases due to higher subjective efficacy. A total of 11 patients showed efficacy within 30 minutes. Only 3 patients referred to adverse events, always mild. CONCLUSIONS: The 5 mg nasal formulation of zolmitriptan is a potential new option for the symptomatic treatment of cluster headache. This formulation should be considered in patients with poor tolerability to subcutaneous sumatriptan and in those attacks where quick access to inhaled oxygen is not possible. These results suggest that a controlled trial with nasal zolmitriptan in this indication would be worthwhile.

Administration, Intranasal↗
PubMed2006

[Symptomatic treatment of migraine with zolmitriptan: experience with 82 patients].

OBJECTIVES: To analyze our experience with the new, 5 mg intranasal formulation of zolmitriptan in the symptomatic treatment of migraine attacks. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This series includes 82 patients who had treated an average of 7 migraine attacks. Eighty patients had taken oral triptans and 20 subcutaneous sumatriptan. The main reasons for using nasal zolmitriptan were: poor efficacy of oral triptans (41.5 % of the patients), use of subcutaneous sumatriptan (24.4%) or medical criteria (34.5%). RESULTS: Among the 80 patients who had been treated with oral triptans, 50 (62.5 %) preferred nasal zolmitriptan, 14 (17.5 %) oral triptans and the remaining 16 (20 %) did not express any preference. The main reasons for this preference were shorter speed of action and better efficacy. Within those 20 patients who were using subcutaneous sumatriptan, 8 (40 %) preferred subcutaneous sumatriptan, 5 (25%) nasal zolmitriptan and 7 (35%) did not express any preference. The reasons for preference of intranasal zolmitriptan over subcutaneous sumatriptan were greater convenience, better tolerability and lower price. A total of 55 patients noticed efficacy within 60 min. Half experienced at least one adverse event, always mild. The most frequent were local: bad taste (n=23) or nasal irritation/itching (n=8). CONCLUSIONS: The new intranasal formulation of 5 mg zolmitriptan is a good option for the symptomatic treatment of migraine, which could be considered as an intermediate between oral triptans and the subcutaneous formulation of sumatriptan.

Administration, Intranasal↗
PubMed2005

Duration of attacks of first division trigeminal neuralgia.

Objective measurements of duration of attacks have been performed in 8 (5 female and 3 male) patients suffering from primary first division (V-1) trigeminal neuralgia. The mean age of the patients was 67.5 +/- 11.4 years, and the mean age at onset 64.0 +/- 9.7 years. During the study the patients were off treatment. A total of 192 attacks were witnessed by the authors and exactly timed by a stop-watch. The duration of attacks ranged from 2 to 32 s, with a mean of 6.5 +/- 6.1 s. The unweighted mean was 8.8 +/- 5.7 s, with a range of 2.4-17.5 s. With the present data the duration of attacks of V-1 neuralgia has been exactly determined, and the clinical distinction of V-1 neuralgia from other shortlasting headaches, particularly from SUNCT, has been substantially clarified.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Numular headache: a coin-shaped cephalgia.

Numular headache is a chronic, mild to moderate, pressurelike pain in a circumscribed cranial area of approximately 2 to 6 cm in diameter. Pain usually is limited to the parietal region, although it may appear in any cranial site. It is a benign process of usually unknown origin.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Objective assessment of autonomic signs during triggered first division trigeminal neuralgia.

A total of 26 episodes of V-1 trigeminal neuralgia attacks have been recorded in two female patients. Autonomic phenomena were assessed according to a semiquantitative scale. Attacks lasted 17 +/- 5 s. Mild lacrimation without conjunctival hyperaemia, rhinorrhea or ptosis was observed, even in relatively long lasting episodes. This is in clear contradiction with SUNCT (shortlasting, unilateral, neuralgiform headache with conjunctival injection, tearing and rhinorrhea) attacks that are always dramatically accompanied by both lacrimation and conjunctival injection of the symptomatic side from the very onset of symptoms. Carbamazepine provided complete and sustained relief of symptoms in both patients. Herein we will show differential autonomic features of V-1 trigeminal neuralgia vs. SUNCT that will both aid the clinician to distinguish both syndromes and stress that both entities are nosologicaly different.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Supraorbital neuralgia: a clinical study.

A series of 18 patients suffering from supraorbital neuralgia have been studied through a seven year period. Appropriate investigations ruled out other headaches. There was a female (67%) preponderance. Mean age at onset was 51.6 years. The mean headache duration was 5.9 years. Five patients had a history of ipsilateral forehead trauma. The main areas of pain were the forehead and orbit. The pain was dull with short sharp or burning exacerbations. The temporal pattern was either remitting (n = 7) or chronic continuous (n = 11). Autonomic accompaniments were generally lacking. Neurological assessment was normal in all but 4 patients who were found to have signs/symptoms of sensory dysfunction in the forehead of the symptomatic side. Trials of different drugs, including migraine and anti-neuralgic drugs, only provided slight relief. Anaesthetic nerve blocks of the supraorbital nerve provided an absolute but transitory relief of pain. Although aetiology and pathogenesis of supraorbital neuralgia is largely unknown, entrapment of the supraorbital nerve at its outlet and successful decompressive surgery have been previously reported. This and other pathogenic hypotheses are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Dose, efficacy and tolerability of long-term indomethacin treatment of chronic paroxysmal hemicrania and hemicrania continua.

Indomethacin has consistently been proven to provide complete and sustained relief of symptoms in hemicrania continua (HC) and chronic paroxysmal hemicrania (CPH), but is not devoid of side-effects. The goal of this retrospective study is to assess the dose and side-effects of prolonged indomethacin treatment of HC and CPH. Twenty-six patients with either HC or CPH were followed during an average of 3.8 years after onset of treatment with indomethacin. Relief of symptoms occurred within 3 days of treatment, with 84 +/- 32 mg/day of indomethacin. With time, 42% of patients experienced a decrease of up to 60% in the dose of indomethacin required to maintain a pain-free state. Six (23%) patients showed adverse events, mostly gastrointestinal and relieved with ranitidine. No major side-effects were observed. These results indicate that prolonged indomethacin treatment of HC or CPH has a good safety and tolerability profile with a reduction of up to 60% in the initial dose.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Native language shifts across sleep-wake states in bilingual sleeptalkers.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To assess language used during episodes of sleeptalking in bilingual children. DESIGN: The investigation was accomplished through the parents who, after having received appropriate information, participated by filling out a survey on sleeptalking. SETTINGS: The study was performed in three bilingual schools of the Basque country, a region in northern Spain in which two completely different official languages are spoken. PATIENTS: A total of 1000 parents agreed to participate, and 681 children were studied. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Sleeptalking was reported by 383 (56.3%) of children (mean age 9 years; range: 3-17). Most individuals used their dominant (i.e., native) language during sleep. However, a minority (< 4%) were found to use their non-dominant language persistently during episodes of sleeptalking. CONCLUSIONS: Balanced bilinguals (those who have equal proficiency in both languages) may sleeptalk in either of the two languages. Dominant bilinguals (i.e., having greater proficiency in one language) may preferentially sleeptalk in their dominant language, with immediate past events probably influencing language use in individual subjects on particular nights. Several considerations are postulated as an explanation for the group who systematically exhibited a dominance shift during sleep.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

SUNCT syndrome versus idiopathic stabbing headache (jabs and jolts syndrome).

Both SUNCT syndrome and idiopathic stabbing headache (ISH) (jabs and jolts syndrome) have to be considered when encountering shortlasting headaches. Since there are no specific tests for these headaches, the differential diagnosis depends entirely upon assessment of the clinical features. These headaches are generally easily distinguishable clinically. There seem to be symptomatic forms of SUNCT.

Age of Onset↗
PubMed1998

Chronic paroxysmal hemicrania-tic syndrome.

We report the coexistence of both chronic paroxysmal hemicrania (CPH) and trigeminal neuralgia (tic douloureux) in a female patient. The clinical features combined to make a configuration of CPH-tic syndrome. The two components of the syndrome appeared synchronously in the same orbital region--first branch of the trigeminal nerve--with a latency of several years after the onset of isolated tic attacks of the second and third trigeminal divisions. The concurrence of both types of pain in the same symptomatic area may have some significance for pathogenic, clinical, and pharmacological aspects of such a syndrome. We discuss all these and postulate a provisional distinction between CPH-V2,3 tic and CPH-V1 tic.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Chronic paroxysmal hemicrania and hemicrania continua. Parenteral indomethacin: the 'indotest'.

The interval between indomethacin administration and clinical response may be clinically relevant in the assessment of chronic paroxysmal hemicrania and hemicrania continua and other unilateral headache disorders with which they can be confounded. Eight patients with chronic paroxysmal hemicrania (6 women and 2 men) and 12 patients with hemicrania continua (8 women and 4 men) were entered into the study. The patients were given 50 mg of indomethacin intramuscularly (i.m.) on day 1 and some of them 100 mg IM on day 2 in an open fashion. The usual attack pattern was reestablished prior to the second test. The mean interval between attacks before the two injections (51 +/- 18 minutes) in chronic paroxysmal hemicrania was significantly shorter than the mean after each of the two indomethacin injections (50 mg = 493 +/- 251 minutes; 100 mg = 668 +/- 211 minutes; P < 0.001; Mann-Whitney test). In every patient, there was a clear refractory period after indomethacin. Since the first "expected" attack after indomethacin administration did not occur, it can, with reasonable certainty, be assumed that the protective phase was initiated already prior to the time of the next "anticipated" attack. The mean attack duration was 22 minutes (last three attacks prior to test). The mean interval between the onset of two consecutive pretest attacks was 73 minutes. Since the interval between attacks was rather stable, one is, therefore, probably allowed to assume that the absolute protective effect of indomethacin on average had begun somewhere between 22 (mean attack duration) and 73 minutes after indomethacin injection. Similarly, in hemicrania continua, the time between 50-mg indomethacin injection and complete pain relief was 73 +/- 66 minutes. The pain-free period after indomethacin injection was around 13 hours (i.e., 13 +/- 8 hours after 50 mg and 13 +/- 10 hours after 100 mg). The use of a test dosage of 50 mg of indomethacin IM ('indotest') gives a clear-cut answer and may be a useful tool in the diagnostic arsenal in every unilateral headache for a proper clinical assessment. A diagnosis of chronic paroxysmal hemicrania or hemicrania continua is a serious matter because it may imply life-long treatment with a potentially noxious drug. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that an 'indotest' is carried out in a standard fashion. In the future, the rules set forth in the present context should be followed, at least in scientific studies. Pain pressure thresholds at cranial and extracranial levels were not significantly modified after indomethacin injection in any of the headaches.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Chronic paroxysmal hemicrania and hemicrania continua: lack of efficacy of sumatriptan.

Attacks of chronic paroxysmal hemicrania are prevented by the continuous administration of indomethacin. Sumatriptan, an agonist of 5-HT1-like receptors, has proven effective in the treatment of cluster headache attacks. There are clear clinical similarities between chronic paroxysmal hemicrania and cluster headache. A natural consequence of these considerations would be to establish whether chronic paroxysmal hemicrania also responds similarly to sumatriptan. Since hemicrania continua is another unilateral headache responsive to indomethacin, it would be meaningful to also include hemicrania continua in such a study. Sumatriptan, 6 mg subcutaneous, was tried in an open fashion in 7 patients (6 women and 1 man) with chronic paroxysmal hemicrania and 7 patients (5 women and 2 men) with hemicrania continua. In chronic paroxysmal hemicrania, the mean interval between the last three attacks prior to sumatriptan treatment (40 +/- 23 minutes) was not statistically different from the mean interval between the three attacks subsequent to sumatriptan treatment of an attack (32 +/- 20 minutes). In none of the patients did the mean duration of the "test attack" decrease as compared to the attacks antedating the test attack (25 +/- 11 minutes and 19 +/- 9 minutes, respectively) (P = 0.027, Wilcoxon). In 2 patients with chronic paroxysmal hemicrania, placebo (saline) administration did not lead to any change in the interval between attacks. There was a mild, but statistically significant reduction in visual analog scale values for headache intensity in hemicrania continua (P = 0.04, Wilcoxon). There was no clear, i.e., clinically meaningful, reduction in visual analog scale values in any particular patient with hemicrania continua. Taken together, these results seem to show that sumatriptan is of no benefit in chronic paroxysmal hemicrania, but may have a partial efficacy in hemicrania continua. However, the latter effect is clinically unimportant. This minor difference in regard to the clinical effect may, nevertheless, be of some interest pathogenetically, indicating minor differences between the two headaches. The lack of sumatriptan effect in chronic paroxysmal hemicrania clearly and markedly strengthens the nonalignment concept in regard to chronic paroxysmal hemicrania and cluster headache.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Migrainous syndrome with CSF pleocytosis. SPECT findings.

Brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) findings are described in four adult patients with the transient syndrome of headache with neurological deficits and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pleocytosis. Focal deficits consisted of right-sided hemisensory changes with or without motor dysphasia or dysarthric speech (n = 4) and confusional episodes (n = 1). All patients had a CSF pleocytosis (with a mean of 309 cells/mm3 on the first spinal tap; range 75 to 590) and an elevated total protein (mean 130.5 mg/dL; range 70 to 193). The EEG showed excessive focal slowing (n = 2). A technetium Tc 99m hexamethyl propylenamine oxime (HMPAO) brain SPECT was performed during a symptom-free period, within 8 and 25 days after the onset of symptoms (n = 4). Three patients showed a decreased tracer uptake in the anterior left hemisphere, topographically consistent with the neurological deficits and EEG slowing. One patient showed no abnormalities. These findings indicate either focally impaired neuronal metabolism or hypoperfusion in regional cerebral blood flow, which could bear some relationship with the clinical features. The possibility that SPECT abnormalities may represent an epiphenomenon was also considered.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

[Idiopathic pulsating headache].

Idiopathic stabbing headache is described as a primary, benign headache seen mainly in women. It is characterized by ultra-brief attacks of pain lasting one second or less and having either single or multiple foci. The orbital region is by far the most frequently affected. Hardly any triggering factors or accompanying symptoms have been identified. The frequency of paroxysms is highly variable, ranging from one attack per year to more than 50 per day. Under extreme circumstances, stabbing pains can come as often as one attack per minute. The timing is erratic, with paroxysms that can be either sporadic or grouped within symptomatic periods, but rarely is the clinical course persistently chronic. Treatment with indomethacin usually provides considerable relief. Idiopathic stabbing headache may exist per se, with its own category, but often occurs alongside other primary headaches. In such cases the two types of pain may coincide or not.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

A first case of progressive supranuclear palsy and pre-clinical REM sleep behavior disorder presenting as inhibition of speech during wakefulness and somniloquy with phasic muscle twitching during REM sleep.

It is known that a pre-clinical stage may precede the full-fledged form of REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and that somniloquy, yelling and limb jerking may be prodromes of RBD. In the present paper, the case of a woman exhibiting both somniloquy and daytime inhibition of speech is discussed. Clinical and polysomnographic findings were consistent with the dual diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and preclinical RBD. Severe akinesia and supranuclear palsy of phonation are postulated as likely mechanisms for the inhibition of speech, whereas the overexcitation of the motor system by the RBD process seemed to account for the sleeptalking episodes.

Aged↗