Cluster of MMPI Personality Profiles in Chronic Tension-Type Headache and Predictable Response to Fluoxetine

Cephalalgia ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Aguirre ◽  
R Gallardo ◽  
Juan A Pareja ◽  
M Pérez-Miranda

A study was made of the personality profiles of a sample of 51 patients with chronic tension-type headache (CTH) employing the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Two clusters were obtained by applying multivariate classification techniques: cluster 1 (with elevations on scales Hy, D and Hs only) and cluster 2 (exhibiting elevations on most scales except Pd, Mf and Si). Fifty subjects without chronic pain or known psychiatric disorders, and extracted from the same social setting as the patients, completed the MMPI as a control group. Fluoxetine treatment was started in the CTH group, with follow-up over a 1-year period. Chi-squared analysis correlating the clusters obtained to different pain-related variables and epidemiological parameters revealed a significant association to sex only. There were no differences in therapeutic response between the two clusters. However, the patients belonging to the less perturbed cluster who exhibited profiles analogous to those of the control population showed significant improvement with respect to the global sample and their own cluster.

Cephalalgia ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 263-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Volker Pfaffenrath ◽  
Josef Hummelsberger ◽  
Walter Pöllmann ◽  
Holger Kaube ◽  
Michael Rath

The role of psychological factors in the course of primary headache syndromes is still controversial. Using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) we investigated the personality profiles of 434 headache patients (160 migraineurs, 95 with tension type headache, 30 with cluster headache and 149 with combination headache) in accordance with the IHS criteria. In the first three MMPI scales (hypochondria, depression, hysteria) there was a slight increase in T mean values to over 60, but still in the range of two standard deviations of the normal population. There were no statistically significant differences between the four headache groups and between patients with and without analgesic abuse. It was impossible to distinguish headache groups on the basis of their personality profiles by means of reclassification with discriminant analysis. In a cluster analysis, patients with cluster headache showed the highest number (20%) of abnormalities, but also the highest percentage (13%) of completely normal results. Our findings- a cross section analysis of personality profiles-contradict many other MMPI-based studies.


2013 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Cathcart ◽  
Nicola Galatis ◽  
Maarten Immink ◽  
Michael Proeve ◽  
John Petkov

Background: Mindfulness-based therapy (MBT) has been demonstrated to be effective for reducing chronic pain symptoms; however, the use of MBT for Chronic Tension-Type Headache (CTH) exclusively has to date not been examined. Typically, MBT for chronic pain has involved an 8-week program based on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. Recent research suggests briefer mindfulness-based treatments may be effective for chronic pain. Aims: To conduct a pilot study into the efficacy of brief MBT for CTH. Method: We conducted a randomized controlled trial of a brief (6-session, 3-week) MBT for CTH. Results: Results indicated a significant decrease in headache frequency and an increase in the mindfulness facet of Observe in the treatment but not wait-list control group. Conclusion: Brief MBT may be an effective intervention for CTH.


Cephalalgia ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 983-991 ◽  
Author(s):  
H van Ettekoven ◽  
C Lucas

We conducted a multicentre, randomized controlled trial with blinded outcome assessment. The treatment period was 6 weeks with follow-up assessment immediately thereafter and after 6 months. The objective was to determine the effectiveness of a craniocervical training programme combined with physiotherapy for tension-type headache. Eighty-one participants meeting the diagnostic criteria for tension-type headache were randomly assigned to an exercise group (physiotherapy and an additional craniocervical training programme) and a control group (physiotherapy alone). The primary outcome measure was headache frequency. Secondary outcomes included headache intensity and duration, Quality of Life (SF-36) and the Multidimensional Headache Locus of Control scale (MHLC). At 6 months' follow-up, the craniocervical training group showed significantly reduced headache frequency, intensity and duration ( P < 0.001 for all). Effect sizes were large and clinically relevant. Loss to follow-up amounted to 3.7±. Physiotherapy including craniocervical training reduces symptoms of tension-type headache significantly over a prolonged time frame.


Cephalalgia ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. 486-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
DC Haas

This study sought to determine whether chronic post-traumatic headaches are different from or identical to the naturally occurring headaches. The chronic post-traumatic headaches of 48 patients were classified, as if they were natural headaches, by the diagnostic criteria of the International Headache Society. Thirty-six patients' headaches (75%) were chronic tension-type headache, 10 (21%) were migraine without aura, and 2 (4%) were unclassifiable. The characteristics and accompaniments of the headaches within each diagnostic group were then compared to those in a control group with natural headaches of the same type. No notable differences between the post-traumatic and control groups were found. Hence, chronic post-traumatic headaches have no special features, but are symptomatically identical to either chronic tension-type headache or migraine without aura (in this series of patients). This identity suggests that post-traumatic headaches are generated by the same processes causing the natural headaches, not by intracranial derangement from head blows or jolts.


Cephalalgia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 1071-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjarne K Madsen ◽  
Karen Søgaard ◽  
Lars L Andersen ◽  
Birte Tornøe ◽  
Rigmor H Jensen

Background Strength training has shown effects in reducing neck pain. As neck pain is highly prevalent in tension-type headache (TTH), it is relevant to examine the effect of strength training of the shoulder muscles on TTH patients. Aim To examine the effect of strength training of the shoulder/neck muscles on TTH frequency and duration. Methods Sixty patients with TTH were randomised into strength training or a control group. The strength training group trained ten weeks with elastic resistance bands. The control group performed ergonomic and posture correction. Efficacy was evaluated at follow-up after 19–22 weeks. Results Twenty-three patients completed strength training and 21 completed ergonomic and posture correction (per-protocol). No between-group effect was detected, but within groups numerical reductions were noted in both groups from baseline to follow-up. Frequency of TTH in the strength training group decreased by 11% ( P = 0.041) and duration decreased by10% ( P = 0.036), while the ergonomic and posture correction group showed a significant reduction in frequency of 24% ( P = 0.0033) and a decrease in duration of 27% ( P = 0.041). Conclusion No significant difference between the groups was found and the within-group effects did not reach clinical significance. Combining all the elements into a multifaceted intervention could prove more useful and should be further explored in future studies. Clinical trials registration number NCT02984826


1996 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 362
Author(s):  
S. Özkaynak ◽  
Z. Önal ◽  
B. Aktekin ◽  
S. Balkan ◽  
U. Kahvecioğlu ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Hasan Hüseyin Özdemir ◽  
Ahmet Dönder

Abstract Objectives A tension headache is the most common type of headache, and its causes are multifactorial. A relationship has been shown between migraine headaches and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and C-reactive protein (CRP). In this study, we investigated the NLR, PLR, and serum CRP levels in frequent episodic tension-type headache (FETTH) and chronic tension-type headache (CTTH) patients. Materials and Methods This retrospective study included 64 patients with FETTH, 80 patients with CTTH, and 60 healthy controls who were followed up in the neurology clinic. Hematological parameters were compared between the patient and control groups. Results In CTTH patients, platelets, NLR, PLR, and CRP values were statistically higher than in FETTH patients and patients in the control group. In FETTH patients, the PLR value was higher than in patients in the control group, but there was no statistically significant difference in NLR and CRP values between FETTH patients and patients in the control group. Also, there was no correlation between these values and age and gender. Conclusion Increase platelet count might have an effect on tension-type headache pathophysiology. Systemic inflammation parameters were shown to be significantly higher in CTTH patients. More comprehensive studies are needed to evaluate the effect of systemic inflammation on the chronicity of tension headaches.


Cephalalgia ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas-Martin Wallasch ◽  
Hartmut Göbel

Exteroceptive suppression of temporalis muscle activity was proposed by Schoenen and co-workers in 1987 as a tool in headache diagnosis and research. Their finding of a decreased or abolished second silent period (ES2) in chronic tension-type headache sufferers has been confirmed by several independent laboratories during the last five years. Temporalis silent periods have also been studied in various other types of headaches. Their modulation by neuropsychological factors and pharmacological agents has also been investigated as well as their retest reliability. The pathophysiological concept of muscle contraction in tension-type headache has been challenged by studies using temporalis silent periods. The exterocepfive suppression of temporalis muscle activity points unequivocally towards a central pathogenetic mechanism, although it remains unclear whether the abnormalities of temporalis ES2 represent the primary dysfunction or a secondary phenomenon in chronic tension-type headache.


2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (9) ◽  
pp. 786-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
César Fernández-de-las-Peñas ◽  
Hong-You Ge ◽  
Lars Arendt-Nielsen ◽  
Maria Luz Cuadrado ◽  
Juan A. Pareja

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