This issue published six articles on headache,covering common type of primary headache and secondary headache diagnosis and treatment and differential diagnosis,It will be great help to clinicians.

The clinical data of 19 cases of giant cell arteritis (GCA) including 8 males and 11 females aged 21-92 y (average 62.2 y) from July 2002 to September 2008 were retrospectively reviewed.Among 19 patients,15 first visited the neurology department and 4 the rheumatism department;8 had fever and 16 had headache as primary symptom;the ESR ranged from 20 to 130 mm/1 h (average 71.1 mm/1 h).Fourteen patients were diagnosed as GCA at admission and 18 were treated with steroids hormone and all got remission except 1 death and 2 recurrences.If temporal artery biopsy is not acceptable,integrated analysis of signs,symptoms,laboratory tests,treatment effectiveness and follow-up is important for the correct diagnosis of GCA.

Objectiye To investigate the possible mechanism of sumatriptan in treating migraine.Methods Migraine model rat was electrically stimulated at cerebral dura mater in superior sagittal sinus (SSS) to induce migraine.Each of 10 male SD rats were randomly selected into groups of normal control (no intervention), pseudo-stimulation group ( no electrical stimulation), stimulation group ( no treatment after stimulation), saline group (treated with saline after migraine stimulation ) and sumatriptan group ( treated with sumatriptan after migraine stimulation).The neurons expressing NF-κB in periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) were evaluated in each group by immnunostaining.Results The numbers of NF-κB immunoreactive positive neurons were 179.5 ± 14.9 in sumatriptan group, 497.8 ± 20.6 in saline group,508.7 ± 30.8 in stimulation group, 112.9 ± 10.7 in pseudo-stimulation group and 111.7 ± 15.7 in normal group.The stimulation group was higher than normal group, pseudo-stimulation group and sumatriptan group (F=944.78, P <0.05).Conclusions The NF-κB positive neurons were activated in the PAG by electric stimulation of the dura mater near the SSS.Sumatriptan can reduce the expression of NF-κB protein.

AIM: To investigate the effect of compoun d poria prescription (CPP), a Chinese medicine, on weight, blood glucose, blood fa t and microcirculation in nutrition obesity rats and attempt to look for a new a pproach for obesity prevention and cure. METHODS: 30 Wistar rats were divided into normal food raised gro up (group A), high energy food raised group (group B), and high energy food comb ined with CPP raised group (group C). The changes of weight, blood glucose, bloo d lipid and microcirculation were detected, respectively. RESULTS: After CPP treatment in experimental obesity rats, the a v erage weight reduced from (313.00?17.29) g to (217.50?17.50) g (P

Objective To investigate the role of PAG in migraine Methods A transformed superior sinus stimulation migraine model was applied to observe Fos expression and co localization of 5 HT with Fos in PAG following the stimulation of dual matter adjacent to the superior sagittal sinus in rats Results 5 HT immunoreactive neurons, densely located in ventrolateral and ventromedial sectors, were found throughout the PAG Fos like immunoreactivity neurons were obviously increased in stimulated group than in unstimulated and control groups The double labelled neurons accounted for 15 0%?2 8% of 5 HT immunoreactive neurons and 24 0%?4 3% of Fos like immunoreactivity The double labelled population mainly distributed in ventrolateral sector Conclusions It suggests that neurons in PAG, especially in ventrolateral sector in caudal segment, might be excited in migraine model of rat The excited cells and 5 HTnic neurons might have a similar distribution pattern in PAG, with part of excited cells being 5 HTnic neurons Other types of excited neurons and the subtype of 5 HT receptor were not included in the experiment, and would be studied further as to getting a better understanding of the pathophysiology of migraine

Objective To investigate the impact of smoking on the level of urinary 8-iso prostaglandin (PG) F2? (8-iso-PGF2?) of patients with acute cerebral infarction. 8-iso-PGF2? is a product of arachidonic acid catalyzed by free-radical, and it has been identified as an indicator of oxidative stress in vivo during reperfusion. Methods Plasma and urine samples were obtained from 28 patients with acute cerebral infarction. Among them 14 patients with no smoking habit were chosen as control group according to the selection criterion, and the other 14 patients with smoking habit were chosen as investigation group according to the same criterion. There was no significant difference between the two groups in age, gender ratio, blood pressure, lipids level, blood glucose, focus location, and degree of the cerebral focus of infaration. The concentration of urinary 8-iso PGF2? and levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDL), total cholesterol, LDL-triglyceride (TG) and LDL-free cholesterol in plasma were measured by enzyme immunoassay. The quantification of urinary 8-iso PGF2? and LDL levels in plasma were performed for each sample respectively. Results The concentration of urinary 8-epi PGF2? of the patients with smoking habit was significantly higher than that in the patients of control group (75.79?10.76 vs 67.36?9.18 ng/mmol creatinine, P0.05, respectively) between the two groups. Conclusions Cigarette smoking may raise the urinary 8-iso-PGF2? level of patients with acute cerebral infarction, suggesting an increase in the level of oxidative stress in vivo in these subjects.

Objectives To explore the effects of hypertension on the oxidative susceptibility of plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in patients with cerebral infarction. Methods A total of 79 patients, 39 males and 40 females with mean age of 67?7, with hypertension accompanied by similar size of cerebral infarction in the perfusion domain of middle cerebral artery, were involved in this study. The hypertension was graded as follows: grade Ⅰ (n=27), the systolic blood pressure (SBP)/diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was 140-159mmHg/90-99mmHg; grade Ⅱ (n=29) with SBP/DBP of 160-179mmHg/100-109mmHg; grade Ⅲ (n=23) with SBP/DBP exceeding 180mmHg/110mmHg. Serum concentrations of LDL were determined with enzymatic colorimetry employing an automated multianalyzer. The lag time (ox-LDL lag-time) in conjugated diene production at 234nm was determined by copper-stimulated oxidation. Results No statistical difference was found in LDL-total cholesterol, LDL-triglyceride, LDL-free cholesterol among grade Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ groups (6.1?0.4, 0.87?0.08, 1.6?0.7mmol/L; 5.7?0.6, 0.86?0.05, 1.8?0.9mmol/L; and 5.6?0.7, 0.87?0.1, 1.7?0.8mmol/L, respectively). Correlation analysis showed the lag time in conjugated diene production in patients with cerebral infarction was negatively related to the grade of hypertension in all the subjects, and the lag time in grade Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ groups was 84.26?8.491, 69.84?7.748 and 61.95?8.482 min, respectively (r=0.673 3, P

Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) is a family member of the transient receptor potential (TRPs). It is primarily localized to a subpopulation of primary sensory neurons, such as trigeminus, vagus and dorsal root ganglia. Neuropathic pain is often caused by peripheral nerve injury, diabetes and chemotherapeutics. A large of oxidative/nitrative stress products are produced during neuropathic pain, which cause acute nociception, allodynia, and hyperalgesia. TRPA1 antagonists may be beneficial in the treatment of neuropathic pain. Here, the role of TRPA1 in neuropathic pain is summarized.

Objective To investigate the effect of vitamin E administration on the urinary level of 8-iso prostaglandin F_(2?)(8-iso- PGF_(2?))in the patients with cerebral infarction.Methods 28 patiems with acute cerebral infarction were involved in this study according to the selection criteria.They were divided into two groups:patients in test group(n=14)were treated with vitamin E,and those in control group(n=14)were not treated with vitamin E.No significant differences existed in age,gender ratio,blood pressure,lipids level and lo- cation and level of the cerebral infarct focus between two groups.The contents of urinary 8-iso-PGF_(2?) were measured in each urinary speci- men,meanwhile the levels of vitamin E and low density lipoprotein(LDL)were determined in each plasma specimen within 24 hours after onset of cerebral infarct and two weeks later.Results The concentration of urinary 8-iso-PGF_(2?) collected at two weeks after onset from pa- tients of test group was significantly lower than that of the control group(85.20?9.17 vs 91.36?4.24ng/mmol creatinine,P0.05).Conclusions The content of urinary 8-iso-PGF_(2?) and the level of oxidative stress in vivo could be decreased in the patients with acute cerebral infarction after being treated with vitamin E.

ObjectiveTo analyze the changes of plasma concentration of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP) after electrical stimulation on dura mater adjacent to sinus sagittalis superior (SSS) in rats.Methods13 rats were randomly divided into control group(n=6) and stimulation group(n=7) in which the dura matter adjacent to SSS was stimulated electrically with square wave of 20 Hz, 4 mA and 250 μs. The plasma concentrations of CGRP and SP in both groups were compared by means of radioimmunity method.ResultsThere was significant difference in the plasma concentration of CGRP between control and stimulation groups (50.60±7.16 pg/ml vs 42.20±4.82 pg/ml, P＝0.029). However, there was no significant difference in the plasma concentration of SP between two groups (308.59±43.07 pg/ml vs 264.60±60.28 pg/ml, P＝0.165).ConclusionPlasma concentration of CGRP decreased after electrical stimulation on dura mater in rats but the concentrations of SP unchanged.