P037. Headache in multiple sclerosis: prevalence and clinical features in a case control-study.

Rossana Terlizzi,Giulia Pierangeli,Sabina Cevoli,Elena Merli,Fabrizio Salvi,Elena Buccellato,Pietro Cortelli,Valentina Favoni,Giulia Giannini

doi:10.1186/1129-2377-16-s1-a83

Abstract

Methods One hundred and fifty adults (F/M = 98/52; mean age 40 years) with a diagnosis of MS and 150 sex and agematched controls (F/M = 101/49; mean age 40 years) from the general population were evaluated by means of an ad hoc semi-structured interview according to the International Classification Headache Disorders (ICHD-3-beta) criteria. All subjects filled out validated questionnaires about fatigue, Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS). The c2 and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used when appropriate. Results The two groups differed significantly for education level and employment. Among the 150 patients with MS, 1 (0.7%) presented a radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS), 17 (11.3%) a clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), 20 (13.3%) a primary progressive form (PPMS), 96 (64%) a relapsing remitting form (RR), and 16 (10.7%) a secondary progressive form (SPMS). Headache was reported by 80 (53.3%) MS cases and 71 controls (47.3%), (p = 0.356); migraine was reported by 47 (31.33%) cases and 51 (34%) controls, tension-type headache was present in 21 (14%) MS affected vs 14 (9.33%) controls (p = 0.245). The simultaneous presence of migraine and tension-type headache was statistically higher (p = 0.002) in MS (28.8%) compared to controls (8.5%). Women with MS presented a low correlation between migraine and menstruation compared to controls while migraine normally improves during pregnancy as much as in controls (p = 0.65). The preliminary analysis of FSS and MFIS scores showed that fatigue resulted overall higher in MS patients with or without headache. Conclusions

Highlights

Ten cross-sectional studies have examined a potential association between migraine and multiple sclerosis (MS); some of them found an association between the two conditions [1,2] while five studies did not [3]
One hundred and fifty adults (F/M = 98/52; mean age 40 years) with a diagnosis of MS and 150 sex and agematched controls (F/M = 101/49; mean age 40 years) from the general population were evaluated by means of an ad hoc semi-structured interview according to the International Classification Headache Disorders (ICHD-3-beta) criteria
* Correspondence: rossanaterlizzi@gmail.com 1Department of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences (DIBINEM) Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna, Bologna, Italy Full list of author information is available at the end of the article a primary progressive form (PPMS), 96 (64%) a relapsing remitting form (RR), and 16 (10.7%) a secondary progressive form (SPMS)

Summary

Introduction

Ten cross-sectional studies have examined a potential association between migraine and multiple sclerosis (MS); some of them found an association between the two conditions [1,2] while five studies did not [3]. Objective The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and the clinical features of different types of headaches in subjects affected from MS respect to a control group. Methods One hundred and fifty adults (F/M = 98/52; mean age 40 years) with a diagnosis of MS and 150 sex and agematched controls (F/M = 101/49; mean age 40 years) from the general population were evaluated by means of an ad hoc semi-structured interview according to the International Classification Headache Disorders (ICHD-3-beta) criteria.

Results

Conclusion