This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Mantia, L L. Articles by Milanese, C Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mantia, L L. Articles by Milanese, C Pubmed/NCBI databases Compound via MeSH Substance via MeSH Hazardous Substances DB AZATHIOPRINE Medline Plus Health Information Headache Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Interferon treatment may trigger primary headaches in multiple sclerosis patients

MS Center, C. Besta National Neurological Institute, Milan, 20133, Italy, msgroup{at}istituto-besta.it

D D’Amico

Headache Center, C. Besta National Neurological Institute, Milan, 20133, Italy

A Rigamonti

C. Besta National Neurological Institute, Milan, 20133, Italy

N Mascoli

MS Center, C. Besta National Neurological Institute, Milan, 20133, Italy

G Bussone

Headache Center, C. Besta National Neurological Institute, Milan, 20133, Italy

C Milanese

MS Center, C. Besta National Neurological Institute, Milan, 20133, Italy

Recent data have suggested that interferon-b (IFN-ß) may aggravate headaches in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the life-time prevalence of primary headaches in MS patients treated with interferons in comparison with patients treated with other disease-modifying agents. Attention was focused on the onset of headache and the changes in pre-existing headaches in relation to the onset of therapy. The study was open-labelled and not randomized. We studied 150 consecutive MS patients treated with IFN-ß (109 patients: 54 with 1b, 55 with 1a) and with other drugs (41 patients: 14 with glatiramer acetate, 27 with azathioprine). All patients underwent a semi-structured interview to diagnose headache type, according to the International Headache Society criteria. The frequency of primary headaches was higher in the interferon-group (72%) compared to patients in the other group (54%) (P = 0.03). Worsening of pre-existing headaches or development of de novo headache occurred only in the interferon-group (41 and 48%, respectively) and not in the other group (P<0.001). These results show that headache should be considered among the side-effects of interferon in MS patients.

Key Words: azathioprine • glatiramer acetate • interferon-ß-1a • interferon-ß-1b • International Headache Society (IHS) criteria • migraine • primary headaches • tension-type headache

Multiple Sclerosis, Vol. 12, No. 4, 476-480 (2006)
DOI: 10.1191/1352458506ms1298oa


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?