The dose was increased up to 200 U in case of no response. The patients kept a headache diary. In addition, we specifically asked on the effect of BTA on the frequency of disabling attacks, consumption of triptans and visits to Emergency for the treatment of severe attacks. This series comprises a total of 35 patients (3 males), aged 24-68 years. All except three met IHS criteria for analgesic overuse.

The number of sessions with BTA ranged from 2 to 15 (median 4) and nine (26%) responded (reduction of > 50% in headache days). However, the frequency of severe attacks was reduced to an average of 46%. Oral triptan consumption (29 patients) was reduced by 50% (from an average of 22 to 11 tablets/month). Those six patients who used subcutaneous sumatriptan reduced its consumption to a mean of 69% (from 4.5 to 1.5 injections per month). Emergency visits went CCI-779 datasheet from an average of 3 to 0.4 per trimester (-83%). Six patients complained of mild adverse events, transient local cervical pain being

the most common. Although our data must be taken with caution as this is an open trial, in clinical practice treatment of refractory CM with BTA selleck screening library reduces the frequency of disabling attacks, the consumption of triptans and the need of visits to Emergency, which makes this treatment a profitable option both clinically and pharmacoeconomically.”
“Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of cluster headache (CH) in a neurology outpatient population in China. Methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from June to December 2011 in a tertiary care, university-affiliated

hospital. All consecutive patients citing headache as their chief complaint were asked to participate in a face-to-face interview with a qualified headache specialist and to complete a detailed self-administered questionnaire. The diagnosis of CH was made according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, Second Edition (ICHD-II). Results. Of the 1,526 headache patients screened, 26 were diagnosed with CH (6 women, 20 men). Mean age at onset was 27 +/- 8 years (range, 17-47), and 50% of patients Selleck SN-38 were 20-30 years of age. Of the 26 CH patients, 61.5% reported that pain was usually centered at the right temporal region, and 69.2% characterized the pain as swelling. Attacks lasted 87 minutes on average and were associated with cranial autonomic symptoms (100%). A seasonal predilection was reported by 69.2% of CH patients. No patient reported significant changes in pain severity after physical activity. Tobacco use was common (14/26 patients), and alcohol was the most frequently cited trigger. Conclusions. This study details the clinical features of CH in a neurology outpatient population in China. Compared with Western studies, our patients were different in several aspects including the absence of chronic CH.