Management of migraine in adolescents

Headaches in children and adolescents are still under-diagnosed. 75% of children are affected by primary headache by the age of 15 with 28% fitting the ICHD2 criteria of migraine. Migraine is considered a chronic disorder that can severely impact a child's daily activities, including schooling and socializing. Early recognition and aggressive therapy, with acute and prophylactic treatments, as well as intensive biobehavioral interventions, are essential to control the migraine attacks and reverse the progression into intractable disabling headache.     

Friendships and social interactions of school-aged children with migraine

We set out to evaluate the friendships and social behaviour of school-aged children with migraine. Concern exists regarding the impact of paediatric migraine on daily activities and quality of life. We hypothesized that children with migraine would have fewer friends and be identified as more socially sensitive and isolated than comparison peers. Sixty-nine children with migraine participated in a school-based study of social functioning. A comparison sample without migraine included classmates matched for gender, race and age. Children with migraine had fewer friends at school; however, this effect was limited to those in elementary school. Behavioural difficulties were not found. Middle-school students with migraine were identified by peers as displaying higher levels of leadership and popularity than comparison peers. Concern may be warranted about the social functioning of pre-adolescent children with migraine; however, older children with migraine may function as well as or better than their peers.     

Methadone Anonymous: A 12-Step Program for Methadone Maintained Heroin Addicts

Methadone Anonymous (MA) is a new 12-step fellowship developed for methadone maintained heroin addicts. A total of 53 MA members completed a survey assessing factors related to methadone maintenance treatment program (MMTP) entry, drug use, MA participation, beliefs concerning effectiveness of MMTP and MA, and level of social cohesiveness. Length of time in MA was associated with a decreased use of alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana. Clients rated components of MA to be significantly more helpful to recovery than MMTP treatment components. Affiliation to five MA members known best by the respondents was significantly greater than affiliation to non-MA members. Length of time in MA was positively associated with MA affiliation. Social affiliation and endorsement of 12-step principles were positively correlated. These findings suggest that MA participation has benefits not available in professionally driven MMTP, and should be further studied.