Headache an indication of multiple sclerosis

New findings in multiple sclerosis: headaches can be a sign

01/13/2014

Permanent or regular headaches may indicate chronic and hitherto incurable multiple sclerosis (MS). Medical professionals had recently pointed out the problem of falls in MS patients and explained that those affected in addition to injuries and fractures with fear and withdrawal.

A blessing for the patients that in 2013 there were also some innovations in the therapy and in the research of multiple sclerosis. In addition to the first clinical studies on stem cell therapy and the introduction of two promising new drugs, researchers now want to have discovered a link between headaches and MS.

Especially at the beginning of MS, younger patients and more women suffer from headaches. Rostock researchers have found this connection in a recent study. The results of the study were published in the science online journal PLOS one.

For neurologists and psychologists, this finding could have far-reaching consequences in the diagnosis and treatment of the still incurable disease, the researchers said. People who are more likely to suffer from migraines need not worry about it. The headaches classified by the researchers are only related to the clinical picture of MS. "The headache is not a classic migraine pain," says head pain researcher Prof. Peter Kropp from the Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology at the University of Rostock.

Women more often affected than men
Every year, around 2,500 people in Germany fall ill with MS, which is usually diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40 years. It is striking that women are twice as likely to be affected by the disease as men. Characteristic of MS is the attack on the brain and spinal cord, ie the central nervous system. This in turn leads to an impairment of the immune system. The signals that are otherwise sent from the brain to the spinal cord can no longer be relayed due to a defect in the so-called "myelin layer" - this is the protective covering of nerve fibers. As a result, it comes to inflammation with physical failures or disorders. The commands of the brain are virtually passed on only incompletely. The failures range from blurred vision to immobilization.

The fact that headaches associated with MS are observed can turn out to be a groundbreaking discovery. "We examined 200 patients with MS and found that 70 percent of sufferers suffer from headaches," says Professor. Uwe Zettl from the Clinic and Polyclinic for Neurology at the University of Rostock. "Especially young women are affected. Specifically, the findings in this regard mean that physicians have new diagnostic options for MS. "In the past, headaches in MS patients were always considered in isolation, resulting in a delay in therapy. However, an early diagnosis is important, because in the early inflammatory phase, the disease can still be treated well and symptoms can be more effectively limited, says Professor Zettl. (Fr)