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Because of the lack of biochemical or neuroradiological markers, the diagnostic assessment of primary headaches rests on a clinical history collected by an experienced physician; the articulated criteria of the International Headache Society (IHS) represent the only available tool to testobjectivelythe diagnostic hypothesis rising from clinical interview. However, the complexity reached by IHS criteria still represents its major limit to extensive application, at least in common clinical settings. The use of modern information technology (IT), which is specifically designed to manage complex problems with a large number of variables, seems to be the best choice to counteract the complexity of IHS classification. In this paper AIDACEFALEE, a user-friendly client-server database for the management of headache patients, is presented. The system integrates acomputer assisted diagnosismodule, which may help to extend the correct use of IHS diagnostic criteria to any clinical setting. The interoperability of the system may represent the possible infrastructure of aNational Network of ANIRCEF Headache Centres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morvan's syndrome is a rare disease characterized by peripheral nerve hyperexcitability, associated with CNS and autonomic systems involvement. High serum voltage-gated potassium channel (VGKC) antibody titers have been reported, and, till now, Morvan's syndrome has been considered as a VGKC antibody associated disease. We describe a patient with Morvan's syndrome associated with myasthenia gravis and a thymoma in his previous history, with surprisingly undetectable levels of VGKC antibodies. The clinical course is similar to those cases of Morvan's syndrome with VGKC-Ab, except for the lack of response to plasma exchange, previously considered as the first choice treatment. Nevertheless, the good response to corticosteroids therapy and the association with myasthenia confirm an autoimmune origin of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite clinical similitude, there is a tendency to consider trigeminal pain in multiple sclerosis (MS) as a distinct condition. To evaluate clinical differences in trigeminal pain presentation in patients with and without underlying MS, we compared clinical characteristics of facial pain found in 15 consecutive MS patients with those reported by 13 consecutive subjects diagnosed with classical trigeminal neuralgia. The only significant difference between MS and non-MS neuralgic patients was the age of onset of pain (43.4±10.5 in MSvs.59.6±11.50 in non-MS patients,p=0.000629, unpaired Student’st-test). No differences were observed for side, duration and quality of pain, trigeminal branches involved, presence of trigger areas or factors, pain refractive period, remitting-relapsing or chronic course. There was only a trend without statistical significance in interval pain and trigeminal hypoesthesia, more frequent in MS population. Only one patient in the MS group presented with long-lasting episodes (45-60 min) of atypical odontalgia. Our findings support the view of a common pathogenetic mechanism underlying TN in the two groups, possibly related to demyelination of the trigeminal entry root in the pons. Typical TN in MS patients should be considered as “symptomatic trigeminal neuralgia”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migraine and epilepsy are both chronic disorders characterised by recurrent neurological attacks, with a partial clinical and therapeutic overlap and frequently occurring together. Although still incompletely clarified, the possible existence of a link between migraine and epilepsy has long been debated. In this paper the epidemiologic evidence of migraine and epilepsy comorbidity, the possible occurrence of both disturbances in close temporal association, possible shared physiopathologic mechanisms and the rationale for antiepileptic drug use in migraine prophylaxis will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIDA Cefalee is a database for the management of headache patients developed on behalf of the Italian Neurological Association for Headache Research (ANIRCEF). The system integrates a diagnostic expert system able to suggest the correct ICHD-II diagnosis once all clinical characteristics of a patient's headache have been collected. The software has undergone a multicentre validation study to assess: its diagnostic accuracy; the impact of using the software on visit duration; the userfriendliness degree of the software interface; and patients' acceptability of computer-assisted interview. Five Italian headache centres participated in the study. The results of this study validate AIDA Cefalee as a reliable diagnostic tool for primary headaches that can improve diagnostic accuracy with respect to the standard clinical method without increasing the time length of visits even when used by operators with basic computer experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]