Abstract

Background

Central sensitisation is an important mechanism in migraine chronification. It is presumed to occur in second and third order neurons sequentially, resulting in an analogous spatial distribution of cutaneous allodynia with cephalic and extracephalic symptoms. We investigated whether allodynia, and its subtypes based on spatial distribution and type of stimulus, predict response to treatment in chronic migraine patients.

Methods

This study was conducted as part of the CHARM study (NTR3440), a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in chronic migraine patients with medication overuse. We included 173 patients. The presence of cutaneous allodynia at baseline was established with the Allodynia Symptom Checklist. Primary endpoint was reversion from chronic to episodic migraine.

Results

Of all patients, 74.6% reported cutaneous allodynia. Absence of allodynia compared to presence of allodynia was predictive for reversion from chronic to episodic migraine, odds ratio (OR): 2.45 (95% CI: 1.03–5.84), p = 0.042. The predictive value was more pronounced when subdivided for spatial distribution, for participants without allodynia versus cephalic (OR: 4.16 (95% CI: 1.21–14.30), p = 0.024) and extracephalic (OR: 7.32 (95% CI: 1.98- 27.11), p = 0.003) allodynia. Mechanical, but not thermal, allodynia, was associated with outcome.

Conclusions

Cutaneous allodynia, an important marker for central sensitization, likely has predictive value for treatment response in chronic migraine.

Details

Title
Cutaneous allodynia as predictor for treatment response in chronic migraine: a cohort study
Author
Pijpers, Judith A. 1 ; Kies, Dennis A. 2 ; van Zwet, Erik W. 3 ; de Boer, Irene 1 ; Terwindt, Gisela M. 1 

 Leiden University Medical Centre, Department of Neurology, Leiden, The Netherlands (GRID:grid.10419.3d) (ISNI:0000000089452978) 
 Leiden University Medical Centre, Department of Neurology, Leiden, The Netherlands (GRID:grid.10419.3d) (ISNI:0000000089452978); Leiden University Medical Centre, Department Radiology, Leiden, The Netherlands (GRID:grid.10419.3d) (ISNI:0000000089452978) 
 Leiden University Medical Centre, Department Medical Statistics, Leiden, The Netherlands (GRID:grid.10419.3d) (ISNI:0000000089452978) 
Pages
118
Publication year
2023
Publication date
Dec 2023
Publisher
Springer Nature B.V.
ISSN
11292369
e-ISSN
11292377
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2858501432
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2023. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.