生物谷報(bào)道：美國研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)有偏頭痛史的女性與沒有這一問題的女性相比,，在年齡增加的過程中，更少認(rèn)知能力衰退,。該發(fā)現(xiàn)發(fā)表于4月24日的《神經(jīng)病學(xué)》,。
“這完全是個(gè)驚喜，”該研究論文的作者,、國立精神衛(wèi)生研究院的研究人員Amanda Kalaydjian說,，“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)有偏頭痛的人，特別是預(yù)兆偏頭痛患者――這與我們的直覺更加矛盾――隨著年月的增長根本就沒有記憶衰退,。”其它專家對于這一發(fā)現(xiàn)也感到同樣的驚奇,。“這一風(fēng)險(xiǎn)因素看起來是有保護(hù)作用的，這讓我很吃驚,，”Montefiore頭痛中心主任Richard Lipton博士說,，“但是這是我們得到的有關(guān)偏頭痛的最好的縱向研究數(shù)據(jù),，所以我的態(tài)度是樂觀而審慎的。”
偏頭痛是特別嚴(yán)重的一種頭痛,，經(jīng)常發(fā)生于頭部某一側(cè),，可以伴有視覺混亂（預(yù)兆之一）、對光敏感,、惡心和嘔吐,。偏頭痛發(fā)作可持續(xù)數(shù)小時(shí)甚至數(shù)天。這種頭痛產(chǎn)生的原因仍然不清楚,，雖然飲食因素如紅酒等可能在某些人身上會(huì)有某些作用,。費(fèi)城的研究人員甚至在探討一種常見的心臟缺陷會(huì)否在偏頭痛中起作用。
迄今為止,，關(guān)于偏頭痛與認(rèn)知功能的關(guān)系一直混亂不清,。一些研究發(fā)現(xiàn)兩者無關(guān)，而另一些則認(rèn)為偏頭痛（偏頭痛患者）在涉及注意力,、語言能力和記憶力的任務(wù)中表現(xiàn)得差些,。“一些（以往的研究）顯示偏頭痛患者存在某些缺陷，另一些則沒有,。但是這些以往的研究都存在大量的問題,，因?yàn)樗鼈円?guī)模都很小，而且是基于臨床的,，”Kalaydjian說,，“這就難于得出一般結(jié)論了。”她補(bǔ)充到,，事實(shí)上,，沒有一項(xiàng)研究對病人進(jìn)行長期觀察。
本項(xiàng)研究涉及1448名女性,，其中204名患有偏頭痛,。所有女性都在1993年開始時(shí)及大約12年后進(jìn)行了一系列的認(rèn)知測試。所有受到影響的女性都有一段很長的偏頭痛病史,。Kalaydjian解釋到：“我們的想法是,，可能，隨著年月的增長,，偏頭痛可能對大腦產(chǎn)生某些微妙的影響,。”科學(xué)家們已經(jīng)在推測，偏頭痛可能對大腦有著累積損傷效應(yīng),。然而,，該研究沒有顯示出這一點(diǎn)。偏頭痛患者在研究開始時(shí)的認(rèn)知測試（如回憶單詞）確實(shí)較差，但是在整個(gè)研究中,，他們的表現(xiàn)與無偏頭痛的女性相比,，少衰退了17％。研究人員指出,，大于50歲的偏頭痛女性的認(rèn)知衰退最少,。
為什么出現(xiàn)這樣的差異仍然不清楚，但是Kalaydjian說,，偏頭痛患者的某些藥物或者生活方式可能值得探討,。“偏頭痛患者通常會(huì)遠(yuǎn)離酒精，因此我們可以認(rèn)為這些人會(huì)少喝酒,、多睡眠,，因?yàn)樗卟蛔銜?huì)導(dǎo)致頭痛，”她說,，“他們可能攝入更多的維生素和營養(yǎng)元素,，因?yàn)樗麄兏P(guān)注自身健康。”也有一些研究提示非阿司匹林,、非類固醇抗炎藥物類止痛藥可能改進(jìn)認(rèn)知能力,。Kalaydjian說“偏頭痛患者通常會(huì)自己用藥。”
然而,，下一步是,，試著重復(fù)這一發(fā)現(xiàn)。“僅僅一項(xiàng)研究是不夠的,，但是它的確為將來的研究打下了基礎(chǔ),，”Kalaydjian說，“它將我們帶到了一個(gè)位置,，我們要更深入的做些事情,，可能患有這種痛楚真的有某種好處。”
原始出處：
Neurology,， April 24 2007, Volume 68, Issue 17
How migraines impact cognitive function
Findings from the Baltimore ECA
A. Kalaydjian, PhD, P. P. Zandi, PhD, K. L. Swartz, MD, W. W. Eaton, PhD and C. Lyketsos, MD
From the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Mental Health (A.K., P.P.Z., W.W.E.), and the Johns Hopkins Hospital, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (K.L.S., C.L.), Baltimore, MD.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Amanda Kalaydjian, Section on Developmental Genetic Epidemiology, National Institute of Mental Health, 35 Convent Drive, 1A-108, Bethesda, MD 20892 [email protected]
Objective: To examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship between migraine headaches and cognitive functioning.
Methods: The data were from Waves III (1993 through 1996) and IV (2004 through 2005) of the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study. Migraine headaches were diagnosed according to modified criteria of the International Headache Society. Scores on the immediate and delayed recall tests and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were compared for migraineurs (n = 204) vs nonmigraineurs (n = 1,244). The longitudinal association between migraine and cognitive changes was assessed by generalized estimating equations.
Results: Migraineurs scored lower on tests of immediate and delayed memory at baseline, but declined by less over time than nonmigraineurs. These associations were specific to migraineurs with aura, who declined by 1.26 (p < 0.01) and 1.47 (p < 0.01) words less on the immediate and delayed recall tests over the 12 years of follow-up. The effects of migraine, specifically with aura, on the MMSE were restricted to those older than 50 years. Among those younger than 50 years, migraineurs with aura declined at the same rate on the MMSE as nonmigraineurs. However, among those older than 50 years, migraineurs with aura declined by 0.99 points (p < 0.01) less over the follow-up.
Conclusions: Migraineurs, specifically those with aura, exhibited less decline on cognitive tests over time vs nonmigraineurs. For the Mini-Mental State Examination, these effects were only apparent among those who were older than 50 years.
