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Frontiers in Psychology 2018Many musicians suffer for their art, and health is often compromised during training. The Health Promotion in Schools of Music (HPSM) project has recommended that...
Many musicians suffer for their art, and health is often compromised during training. The Health Promotion in Schools of Music (HPSM) project has recommended that health education should be included in core curricula, although few such courses have been evaluated to date. The aim of the study was to design, implement and evaluate a compulsory health education course at a UK conservatoire of music. The course design was informed by a critical appraisal of the literature on musicians' health problems and their management, existing health education courses for musicians, and the HPSM recommendations. It was delivered by a team of appropriately-qualified tutors over 5 months to 104 first-year undergraduate students, and evaluated by means of questionnaires at the beginning and end of the course. Thirty-three students who had been in their first year the year before the course was introduced served as a control group, completing the questionnaire on one occasion only. Items concerned: hearing and use of hearing protection; primary outcomes including perceived knowledge and importance of the topics taught on the course; and secondary outcomes including physical and psychological health and health-promoting behaviors. The content of the essays written by the first-year students as part of their course assessment served as a guide to the topics they found most interesting and relevant. Comparatively few respondents reported using hearing protection when practicing alone, although there was some evidence of hearing loss, tinnitus, and hyperacusis. Perceived knowledge of the topics on the course, and awareness of the risks to health associated with performing music, increased, as did self-efficacy; otherwise, there were negative effects on secondary outcomes, and few differences between the intervention and control groups. The topics most frequently covered in students' essays were managing music performance anxiety, and life skills and behavior change techniques. There is considerable scope for improving music students' physical and psychological health and health-related behaviors through health education, and persuading senior managers, educators and students themselves that health education can contribute to performance enhancement.
PubMed: 30061850
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01137 -
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2023Migraine is a prevalent clinical disorder characterized by recurrent unilateral throbbing headache episodes accompanied by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting,...
Migraine is a prevalent clinical disorder characterized by recurrent unilateral throbbing headache episodes accompanied by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, photophobia, and phonophobia. Despite its common occurrence, the diagnosis, pathophysiology, and treatment of migraine remain controversial. Extensive research has implicated the gut microbiota in various central nervous system disorders, including anxiety disorders, depression, and Parkinson's disease. Some studies have also suggested that migraine may stem from disruptions to neurohormones and metabolism. This study aimed to investigate the disparities in gut microbiota and metabolites between migraine mice model and normal mice to shed light on the underlying mechanisms and potential therapeutic approaches. Distinct differences in gut microbial composition were observed between the migraine mouse model and normal mouse, indicating a potential correlation between these variations and the pathogenesis of migraine. This study provides evidence of differences in gut microbiota composition and metabolites between a migraine mouse model and normal mice, which showed that Akkermansiaceae constituted the most abundant taxon in the sham injection mouse group, while Lachnospiraceae constituted the most prevalent group in the migraine mouse model group. The associations between the abundances of and Lachnospiraceae bacteria and metabolites suggested their potential roles in the pathogenesis of migraine. The altered abundance of Lachnospiraceae observed in migraine-afflicted mice and its correlations with changes in metabolites suggest that it may affect the host's health. Thus, probiotic therapy emerges as a possible treatment for migraine. Moreover, significant disparities in gut metabolites were observed between the migraine mouse model and normal mice. These alterations encompass multiple metabolic pathways, suggesting that metabolic disturbances may also contribute to the development of migraines.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Migraine Disorders; Nausea; Clostridiales; Disease Models, Animal; Verrucomicrobia; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
PubMed: 38357211
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2023.1322059 -
The Journal of Headache and Pain Oct 2022Cardiac cephalalgia is an unusual condition that occurs during an episode of myocardial ischemia. Information about cardiac cephalalgia is scarce and its characteristics... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Cardiac cephalalgia is an unusual condition that occurs during an episode of myocardial ischemia. Information about cardiac cephalalgia is scarce and its characteristics and physiopathology remain unclear. Our aim is to provide a narrative review of clinical characteristics and physiopathology of cardiac cephalalgia and to evaluate the current diagnostic criteria. METHODS: A search through PubMed was undertaken for studies on cardiac cephalalgia published until 20 September 2022. We summarized the literature and provide a comprehensive review of the headache characteristics and possible mechanisms. We also evaluated current International Classification of Headache Disorders third edition diagnostic criteria based on prior reported cases. RESULTS: In total, 88 cases were found. Headache characteristics were variable. Occipital location and throbbing pain were the most frequently reported. Headache was accompanied in most cases by cardiac symptoms. Criterion B was fulfilled by 98% of cases, criterion C1 by 72%, and criteria C2a and C2b by 37 and 93.2%, respectively. Regarding headache features described in diagnostic criterion C3, 'moderate to severe intensity', 'accompanied by nausea', 'not accompanied by photophobia or phonophobia' and 'aggravated by exertion', were reported in 75, 31, 55 and 55% of cases, respectively.
CONCLUSION
Cardiac cephalalgia characteristics are variable and the headache features described in the diagnostic criterion C3 might not be adequate. Given that cardiac cephalalgia can be the manifestation of a life-threatening condition it is important to increase the knowledge about this entity.
Topics: Humans; Headache; Headache Disorders; Myocardial Ischemia; Photophobia; Pain
PubMed: 36266636
DOI: 10.1186/s10194-022-01508-7 -
Frontiers in Neuroscience 2023Clinical observations of hundreds of patients who exhibited decreased tolerance to sound showed that many of them could not be diagnosed as having hyperacusis when... (Review)
Review
Clinical observations of hundreds of patients who exhibited decreased tolerance to sound showed that many of them could not be diagnosed as having hyperacusis when negative reactions to a sound depend only on its physical characteristics. In the majority of these patients, the physical characteristics of bothersome sounds were secondary, and patients were able to tolerate other sounds with levels higher than sounds bothersome for them. The dominant feature determining the presence and strength of negative reactions are specific to a given patient's patterns and meaning of bothersome sounds. Moreover, negative reactions frequently depend on the situation in which the offensive sound is presented or by whom it is produced. Importantly, physiological and emotional reactions to bothersome sounds are very similar (even identical) for both hyperacusis and misophonia, so reactions cannot be used to diagnose and differentiate them. To label this non-reported phenomenon, we coined the term misophonia in 2001. Incorporating clinical observations into the framework of knowledge of brain functions allowed us to propose a neurophysiological model for misophonia. The observation that the physical characterization of misophonic trigger was secondary and frequently irrelevant suggested that the auditory pathways are working in identical manner in people with as in without misophonia. Descriptions of negative reactions indicated that the limbic and sympathetic parts of the autonomic nervous systems are involved but without manifestations of general malfunction of these systems. Patients with misophonia could not control internal emotional reactions (even when fully realizing that these reactions are disproportionate to benign sounds evoking them) suggesting that subconscious, conditioned reflexes linking the auditory system with other systems in the brain are the core mechanisms of misophonia. Consequently, the strength of functional connections between various systems in the brain plays a dominant role in misophonia, and the functional properties of the individual systems may be perfectly within the norms. Based on the postulated model, we proposed a treatment for misophonia, focused on the extinction of conditioned reflexes linking the auditory system with other systems in the brain. Treatment consists of specific counseling and sound therapy. It has been used for over 20 years with a published success rate of 83%.
PubMed: 37034168
DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.895574 -
Ugeskrift For Laeger Jan 2021Superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome (SCDS) is caused by a bony defect of the superior semicircular canal. The bony defect allows low-frequency acoustic... (Review)
Review
Superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome (SCDS) is caused by a bony defect of the superior semicircular canal. The bony defect allows low-frequency acoustic stimuli of high intensity to travel to the vestibular organ. This can be induced by sound stimuli or pressure stimuli leading to vertigo, torsional nystagmus, pulsatile tinnitus, hyperacusis, hearing loss and autophony. SCDS is diagnosed with provocative testing, audiometry, CT-scan, vestibular evoked myogenic potentials and electrocochleography. Treatment is conservative, however, surgery with occlusion of the defect can be necessary for debilitating symptoms, as argued in this review.
Topics: Humans; Nystagmus, Pathologic; Semicircular Canal Dehiscence; Semicircular Canals; Vertigo; Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials
PubMed: 33491628
DOI: No ID Found -
Scientific Reports May 2021Misophonia is a condition where a strong arousal response is triggered when hearing specific human generated sounds, like chewing, and/or repetitive tapping noises, like...
Misophonia is a condition where a strong arousal response is triggered when hearing specific human generated sounds, like chewing, and/or repetitive tapping noises, like pen clicking. It is diagnosed with clinical interviews and questionnaires since no psychoacoustic tools exist to assess its presence. The present study was aimed at developing and testing a new assessment tool for misophonia. The method was inspired by an approach we have recently developed for hyperacusis. It consisted of presenting subjects (n = 253) with misophonic, pleasant, and unpleasant sounds in an online experiment. The task was to rate them on a pleasant to unpleasant visual analog scale. Subjects were labeled as misophonics (n = 78) or controls (n = 55) by using self-report questions and a misophonia questionnaire, the MisoQuest. There was a significant difference between controls and misophonics in the median global rating of misophonic sounds. On the other hand, median global rating of unpleasant, and pleasant sounds did not differ significantly. We selected a subset of the misophonic sounds to form the core discriminant sounds of misophonia (CDS). A metric: the CDS score, was used to quantitatively measure misophonia, both with a global score and with subscores. The latter could specifically quantify aversion towards different sound sources/events, i.e., mouth, breathing/nose, throat, and repetitive sounds. A receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that the method accurately classified subjects with and without misophonia (accuracy = 91%). The present study suggests that the psychoacoustic test we have developed can be used to assess misophonia reliably and quickly.
Topics: Adult; Affective Symptoms; Arousal; Emotions; Female; Humans; Hyperacusis; Male; Psychoacoustics; Self Report; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 34040061
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-90355-8 -
Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) Feb 2023Cranial autonomic symptoms and neck pain have been reported to be highly prevalent in migraine, although they are rarely considered in clinical evaluation. The aim of... (Review)
Review
Cranial autonomic symptoms and neck pain have been reported to be highly prevalent in migraine, although they are rarely considered in clinical evaluation. The aim of this review is to focus on the prevalence, pathophysiology, and clinical characteristics of these two symptoms, and their importance in the differential diagnosis between migraines and other headaches. The most common cranial autonomic symptoms are aural fullness, lacrimation, facial/forehead sweating, and conjunctival injection. Migraineurs experiencing cranial autonomic symptoms are more likely to have more severe, frequent, and longer attacks, as well as higher rates of photophobia, phonophobia, osmophobia, and allodynia. Cranial autonomic symptoms occur due to the activation of the trigeminal autonomic reflex, and the differential diagnosis with cluster headaches can be challenging. Neck pain can be part of the migraine prodromal symptoms or act as a trigger for a migraine attack. The prevalence of neck pain correlates with headache frequency and is associated with treatment resistance and greater disability. The convergence between upper cervical and trigeminal nociception via the trigeminal nucleus caudalis is the likely mechanism for neck pain in migraine. The recognition of cranial autonomic symptoms and neck pain as potential migraine features is important because they often contribute to the misdiagnosis of cervicogenic problems, tension-type headache, cluster headache, and rhinosinusitis in migraine patients, delaying appropriate attack and disease management.
PubMed: 36832077
DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13040590 -
Italian Journal of Pediatrics Nov 2014Migraine is a common disorder and a frequent cause of medical consultation in children. Many childhood episodic syndromes have been described as common precursors of... (Review)
Review
IMPORTANCE
Migraine is a common disorder and a frequent cause of medical consultation in children. Many childhood episodic syndromes have been described as common precursors of migraine.
OBJECTIVE
To review current knowledge on migraine and childhood episodic syndromes, and to discuss future directions for research and clinical practice.
FINDINGS
For most children it is difficult to describe a headache and fully verbalize symptoms such as photophobia and phonophobia that must be inferred from behaviour. Classical migraine features are rare before the age of 6 years, but some migraine-related syndromes have been described. Benign paroxysmal torticollis of infancy, benign paroxysmal vertigo of childhood, cyclic vomiting syndrome and abdominal migraine are currently classified as childhood episodic syndromes, and therefore common precursors of migraine. A strong association between infantile colic and migraine has recently been reported. There are similarities between children with episodic syndromes and children with migraine, regarding social and demographic factors, precipitating and relieving factors, and accompanying gastrointestinal, neurologic, and vasomotor features. The real pathophysiological mechanisms of migraine are not fully understood. Current data obtained through molecular and functional studies provide a complex model in which vascular and neurologic events cooperate in the pathogenesis of migraine attacks. Genetic factors causing disturbances in neuronal ion channels, make a migraineur more sensitive to multiple trigger factors that activate the nociception cascade. The expanding knowledge on migraine genetics and pathophysiology may be applicable to childhood episodic syndromes. Migraine preventive strategies are particularly important in children, and could be beneficial in childhood episodic syndromes. Nonspecific analgesics like ibuprofen and acetaminophen are widely used in pediatrics to control pain and have been found to be effective also in the treatment of acute migraine attacks. Triptans are the specific fist-line drugs for acute migraine treatment.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Migraine phenotype differs somewhat in the developing brain, and childhood episodic syndromes may arise before typical migraine headache. Diagnosing pediatric migraine may be difficult because of children's language and cognitive abilities. The risk of underestimating migraine in pediatric age is high. An adequate diagnosis is important to maintain a good quality of life and to avoid inappropriate therapy.
Topics: Child; Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; Migraine Disorders; Vomiting
PubMed: 25928129
DOI: 10.1186/s13052-014-0092-4 -
Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience 2024Efferent feedback to the mammalian cochlea includes cholinergic medial olivocochlear neurons (MOCs) that release ACh to hyperpolarize and shunt the voltage change that... (Review)
Review
Efferent feedback to the mammalian cochlea includes cholinergic medial olivocochlear neurons (MOCs) that release ACh to hyperpolarize and shunt the voltage change that drives electromotility of outer hair cells (OHCs). Via brainstem connectivity, MOCs are activated by sound in a frequency- and intensity-dependent manner, thereby reducing the amplification of cochlear vibration provided by OHC electromotility. Among other roles, this efferent feedback protects the cochlea from acoustic trauma. Lesion studies, as well as a variety of genetic mouse models, support the hypothesis of efferent protection from acoustic trauma. Genetic knockout and gain-of-function knockin of the unique α9α10-containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) in hair cells show that acoustic protection correlates with the efficacy of cholinergic inhibition of OHCs. This protective effect was replicated by viral transduction of the gain-of-function α9L9'T nAChR into α9-knockout mice. Continued progress with "efferent gene therapy" will require a reliable method for visualizing nAChR expression in cochlear hair cells. To that end, mice expressing HA-tagged α9 or α10 nAChRs were generated using CRISPR technology. This progress will facilitate continued study of the hair cell nAChR as a therapeutic target to prevent hearing loss and potentially to ameliorate associated pathologies such as hyperacusis.
PubMed: 38560293
DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2024.1372948 -
BMJ Open Jun 2016To systematically review studies of the epidemiology of tinnitus and hyperacusis in children and young people, in order to determine the methodological differences... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVES
To systematically review studies of the epidemiology of tinnitus and hyperacusis in children and young people, in order to determine the methodological differences implicated in the variability of prevalence estimates and the influence of population characteristics on childhood tinnitus and hyperacusis.
DATA SOURCES
Articles were retrieved from PubMed, EMBASE and Scopus databases and from the relevant reference lists using the methods described in the study protocol, which has previously been published. Reporting Items for Systematic Review (PRISMA) guidelines were followed.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Studies addressing childhood prevalence, for example, children and young people aged 5-19 years.
DATA SELECTION
2 reviewers independently assessed the studies for eligibility, extracted data and assessed study consistency. Owing to the heterogeneity in the methodologies among the reported studies, only narrative synthesis of the results was carried out.
RESULTS
Having identified 1032 publications, 131 articles were selected and 25 articles met the inclusion criteria and had sufficient methodological consistency to be included. Prevalence estimates of tinnitus range from 4.7% to 46% in the general paediatric population and among children with normal hearing, and from 23.5% to 62.2% of population of children with hearing loss. Reported prevalence ranged from 6% to 41.9% when children with hearing loss and normal hearing were both included. The prevalence of hyperacusis varied from 3.2% to 17.1%.
CONCLUSIONS
Data on prevalence vary considerably according to the study design, study population and the research question posed. The age range of children studied was varied and a marked degree of variation between definitions (tinnitus, hyperacusis) and measures (severity, perception, annoyance) was observed. The lack of consistency among studies indicates the necessity of examining the epidemiology of tinnitus and hyperacusis in children and adolescents with a set of standardised criteria.
TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER
CRD42014013456.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Adolescent; Child; Comorbidity; Female; Humans; Hyperacusis; Male; Prevalence; Referral and Consultation; Research Design; Tinnitus
PubMed: 27259524
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010596