Women with postpartum depression: "my husband" stories

Background  

The research on Postpartum Depression (PPD) to date suggests that there is a knowledge gap regarding women's perception of their partners' role as carer and care activities they perform. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe women's understanding of their partners' or husbands' involvement in the midst of PPD.     

CULTIVATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF "BACTEROIDES," "SYMBIONTS," OR "RICKETTSIAE" OF BLATTELLA GERMANICA

In Blattella germanica, the German roach or "croton bug," bacteriocytes are found in all individuals of both sexes. These bacteriocytes are scattered throughout the fat tissue and their cytoplasm is filled with microorganisms. Evidence is presented to show that the intracellular parasites are diphtheroidal bacilli. These diphtheroids are transmitted from one generation to another through the ova. By using a technic previously described, the intracellular parasites were isolated and cultivated from the adult bacteriocytes and from embryos. Two diphtheroidal strains were cultivated with approximately equal frequency. These two strains resemble one another closely enough to be considered a single species but show certain minor differences. The sizes, general morphology, and tinctorial reactions of the two cultures correspond to the intracellular parasites of Blattella germanica. They may be distinguished from the three types of Corynebacterium periplanetae variety americana, previously described. For the species here discussed the name Corynebacterium blattellae nov. sp. is proposed.     

Migraine with aura, bipolar depression, ACM aneurysm. A case report

B.D. is a 48–year–old professional woman. She has been suffering for migraine since she was 28, but she did not have serious problems until last year, when headache episodes became more frequent and it was necessary an admission to emergency room. At the beginning, the events were about 6 per month, lasting from 2 to 4 days, beating and of high intensity together with nausea, vomit, photo and phonophobia and visual area. Looking at the anamnesis, we report a psychiatric treatment since about ten years, because of type II bipolar disorder. In spite of the psychopharmacological treatment, as the patient came in our Regional Headache Center, she talked about 7 events with aura (scintillating scotomas, emianopsia) per month, lasting 2–4 days with photo and phonophobia, nausea, crying crisis, anxiety. Although the neurological examination was normal, the sudden aggravation of pain symptomatology and the unresposiveness to usual painkillers, suggested a cerebral CT and CT–angiography. CT and CT–angiography discovered the presence of an aneurysm of the right middle cerebral artery (MCA) of 4 mm diameter, with parietal irregularities. The patient was operated to reduce the hemorrhagic risk, with a positive result. One year after the operation, the patient reports a decrease of headache events with a frequency of 2 per month, lasting only a few hours, which she can now solve with COXIB.     

Migraine,Migraine Features,and Cardiovascular Disease

(Headache 2010;50:1031‐1040) Background.— Many studies support an association between migraine and cardiovascular disease (CVD). This association appears particularly in migraine with aura and is also modified by additional factors. Objective.— We sought to investigate whether the association between migraine and CVD in addition to aura status is affected by certain migraine features. Methods.— Cohort study among 27,840 women, participating in the Women's Health Study. We had detailed self‐reported information on migraine and migraine features among women with active migraine (migraine during the year prior to baseline). Incident CVD events were confirmed after medical record review. We used Cox proportional hazards models to evaluate the association between migraine and incident CVD. The results have been presented in part before. We ran additional analyses according to migraine features. Results.— At baseline, 5125 (18.4%) women reported history of migraine; 39.7% of the 3610 women with active migraine indicated aura. During a mean of 11.9 years of follow‐up, 708 CVD events occurred. Migraine with aura doubled the risk for CVD, ischemic stroke, and myocardial infarction. With regard to ischemic stroke, this association seemed stronger in the absence than in the presence of migraine features. This was most pronounced in the absence (hazard ratio = 3.27; 95% CI = 1.93‐5.51; P < .0001) than in the presence of nausea/vomiting (hazard ratio = 0.91; 95% CI = 0.43‐1.93; P = .80). In contrast, the association with myocardial infarction did not reveal a certain pattern. Conclusions.— These data suggest that the association between migraine with aura and ischemic stroke may differ by absence or presence of migraine features.     

Migraine, major depression and panic disorder: a prospective epidemiologic study of young adults

We examined prospectively the risk for major depression (MDD) and panic disorder in persons with prior history of migraine. A random sample of 995 young adults was interviewed in 1989 and reinterviewed in 1990. A history of migraine at baseline increased fourfold the risk for MDD during the follow-up interval. A history of any anxiety disorder exacerbated the risk for MDD in persons with migraine. Persons with a history of migraine were twelve times more likely to become cases of panic disorder than those with no history of migraine. The risk for MDD and/or panic disorder was unrelated to whether or not migraine was active during the year preceding the baseline interview or in remission for more than one year. The findings suggest that migraine, major depression and anxiety disorders might share common predispositions.     

Migraine Headaches, Migraine Equivalents and Anti-Smooth Muscle Antibodies

SYNOPSIS
We describe 20 patients with migraine headaches and/or migraine equivalents who had positive antinuclear antibodies (ANA) on routine laboratory screening: 17 of the 20 (85%) had elevated anti-smooth muscle antibodies (ASMA) that were cytotoxic on Cr⁵¹ studies. No patient met criteria for defined autoimmune disorders and the remainder of an extensive autoantibody screen was unremarkable. Details of the clinical features and immunology of these patients are presented. The cytotoxicity of the ASMA suggests that they are capable of producing tissue damage and inflammation and could play a pathogenic role in the production of vascular headaches and/or central nervous system symptoms in these patients.     

Migraine,Headaches, and Cognition

Objectives and Background.— The possible effects of migraine on executive abilities remain controversial; hence, we studied inter‐ictal cognitive performance of individuals with migraine and non migraine headaches (NMH) compared with headache free controls. Design and Method.— In a cross‐sectional observational study, taking place in primary care, adults aged 50 or above were evaluated by a neurobehavioral battery including several executive measures. Present history of headache was sought, and migraine was diagnosed by the ID‐Migraine questionnaire. The effect of headache type on cognitive measures was analyzed with multiple regression with adjustment by diagnosis, age, gender, education, and depressive symptoms. Results.— Among 478 participants, 23.2% reported current headache, of whom 50 were NMH, and 61 were migraine headaches. No group differences were found in the majority of cognitive measures. Compared with controls, migraine subjects performed worse on a test of attention, while NMH participants presented more intrusions and worse discriminability in memory recognition plus a lower performance on semantic memory tests. Conclusion.— The presence of headaches in late adulthood was related to a worse performance on few measures of executive functioning, suggesting that cognitive impact is not specific to migraine but might be associated to headache.     

Somnambulism, Migraine and Propranolol

SYNOPSIS
150 migraine patients and 150 healthy subjects without headache were questioned about previous or current somnambulism. Previous or current somnambulism was found in 21.9% of the migraine group and in 6.6% of the control group; this difference is significant (p<0.001). Of the 25 migraine patients who had childhood or adult somnambulism, 16 had common migraine and 9 had classical migraine; classical migraine is over-represented in patients with somnambulism. Three patients treated with propranolol described aggravation of current somnambulism or re-appearance of previous somnambulism with the beginning of this drug treatment.     

Migraine, Personality, and Psychiatric Comorbidity

The purpose of this report is to examine the association between migraine and personality, taking into account history of co-occurring psychiatric disorders. Data came from an epidemiologic study of young adults in the Detroit, Michigan metropolitan area. Migraine, defined according to 1988 IHS criteria, and major depression and anxiety disorders were ascertained by a structured diagnostic interview. Migraine was associated with neuroticism, but not with extraversion or psychoticism, measured by the Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire. The association remained significant, when sex and history of major depression and anxiety disorders were controlled. An excess of 25% of persons with migraine alone, uncomplicated by psychiatric comorbidity, scored in the highest quartile of neuroticism. The results suggest that migraine sufferers might be more vulnerable to psychopathology and poor adjustment to their medical condition.     

Migraine,major depression,panic disorder,and personality traits in women aged 40-74 years: a population-based study

This study investigates the associations between migraine on the one hand and lifetime major depression, lifetime panic disorder, and neuroticism evaluated using the Swedish universities Scales of Personality on the other. A neurologist clinically assessed 728 women aged 40-74 years attending a population-based mammography screening programme. The associations between lifetime migraine and personality traits and psychiatric disorders were insignificant in multivariable analysis. However, in old women (60-74 years) the risk for active migraine was strongly associated with a history of major depression and high levels of stress susceptibility and somatic trait anxiety. Furthermore, in old women, high levels of stress susceptibility and somatic trait anxiety were associated with low ratings of migraine pain intensity and lower levels of these traits with high ratings after controlling for disability during migraines, whereas there were only small differences in middle-aged women. The results suggest that certain aspects of neuroticism are important mental correlates of the ability of old women to endure migraine pain.