13th European Headache Federation Congress 2019 – Abstracts

Aim: To assess cognitive functions in migraine patients (with and without aura) in comparison to a healthy control group. Method: The research sample is divided in two groups: the research group, which consists of 31 migraine patients (10 of them having migraine aura) that fulfill the diagnostic criteria of the ICHD-3 beta version, and the control group, which consists of 30 healthy subjects, matched by age and education years. In this research design, neuropsychological tests are used for the assessment of cognitive functions, while scales and questionnaires are used for the collection of demographic and clinical data. Results: Statistical analyses show that the performance of migraineurs and especially of those without aura in interictal stages is significant lower than the group of healthy subjects in the tasks of Immediate, Delayed Recall and Memory Recognition of the Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT) and MoCA. In contrast, they score higher than healthy controls in the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). However, after controlling for the effect of MoCA on the results no main effect of migraine aura is found. Conclusions: In interictal stages migraineurs and especially migraineurs without aura exhibit significant lower performance scores compared to a group of healthy controls in neuropsychological tests of visual memory recall and recognition. The Journal of Headache and Pain 2019, 20(Suppl 1):109 Page 5 of 22 However this relationship is fully mediated by the performance scores in MoCA, which indicates a lower status of general cognitive function in that group. More studies are needed, in order to further examine those findings and their association with the mechanisms of migraine. A13 Application of micro-cauterisation (on cervical,occipital and temporal areas) for patients with chronic migraine & headache due to medicaltion overuse (MOH). Report of 21 cases Papageorgiou E, Kovas K Chief at the Neurology Department of “G.Gennimatas”General Hospital of Athens; Resident at the Neurology Department of “G.Gennimatas” General Hospital of Athens Correspondence: Kovas K([email protected]) The Journal of Headache and Pain 2019, 20(Suppl 1):A13 Backround: Migraine is a highly disabling disease, usually accompanied by medication overuse with high financial and social impact. Neuromodulation may play an important role in the application of new alternative treatment with microcautery stimulation on sites of cutaneous allodynia for these patients. The present study is based on the theory of the distorted communication within trigeminocervical complex. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of micro-cautery stimulation on patients with chronic migraine -with and without aura-and MOH Materials and methods: A total of 21 patients with migraine were selected. All of them were chronic migraneurs with poor response to medication. The cauterisation on cervical, occipital and temporal areas, depending on what the patients referred to as the most painful points during the attack of migraine and also during the interictal period, once a week for about 4 months. Results: An evaluation scale was completed at the end of the study for each individual. The majority reported a significant amelioration, in frequency, intensity, duration in pain and a decrease in the use of medication. To be noted that several patients continued the sessions after the end of the study. Conclusion: It seems that the thermal micro-cauterisation may be very useful to assist patients with migraine. Possible mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of the method are discussed. A14 USE OF A DIGITAL PLATFORM IN HEADACHE TRAINING. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES IN 5 YEARS Luca Maria Messina, Vincenzo Raieli Child Neuropsychiatry Unit ISMEP ARNAS Civico Palermo, Italy Correspondence: Luca Maria Messina([email protected]) The Journal of Headache and Pain 2019, 20(Suppl 1):A14 OBJECTIVE: Primary headaches, especially migraine, are disorders with an important impact on public health. Migraine is at the seventh place among the more disabling disorders. It is very important for specialists to have an adequate training for the management of headaches. The increasing development of social networks and in general of digital instruments led us to implement our project of a digital platform only focused on headaches, started in 2014 with the technological support of an industrial sponsor (Janssen). We monitored the activity of the platform in the following years, publishing some works (1-3) that emphasized its strengths and weaknesses. The aim of the current study is to analyze strengths and limits of a digital platform in headache training after 5 years. METHODS: Our platform is totally free and easily accessible to doctors after registration and approval of the group’s administrators. It is possible to access using website or smartphone app. It is divided in a section for pediatric and a section for adult headaches and contains more than 270 resources totally concerning headache. Each member can download or upload contents and discuss clinical cases. Users can choose to receive notifications for each new contribution via email. We have also created a WhatsApp group to alert members about new contributions and to encourage real-time communication. Administrators can follow the members’ activity (number of access, trend topics, uploaded/downloaded resources, discussions, average download for user). We monitored the evolution of the platform’s activities over time and compared our experience with other digital platforms. RESULTS: To this day the section dedicated to adult headaches includes 60 members and each did 14 downloads on average. The section dedicated to pediatric headaches includes 67 members with average of 19 downloads. We highlighted a progressive increase in the number of users since the start of our project and an increase in the number of downloads simultaneously with upload of new resources.