Patent Foramen Ovale and Migrane

[Gary]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4793634.stm

"Studies have indicated a strong link between migraine with aura - the type associated with bright flashing lights - and a hole in the heart.

Scientists found surgical repair of the defect cut the severity of migraine attacks by 37%. "

[PfcAJ]

Very interesting article. Good find!

[Pete]

Del Sette (1998), Anzola (1999) and Wilmshurst (2001 and 2004) have all published studies in the medical literature suggesting that there may be an association between PFO and migraine with aura. The work by Wilmshurst follows on from his work linking some cases of DCI with PFO. As an incidental finding he noted that a proportion of the divers who were found to have PFO also had experienced migraine with aura. Of course why individuals who had a history of migraine with aura were diving is another interesting question as this is usually taken to be an contraindication to diving!

The story was run on BBC TV news over here in the UK yesterday. Bottom line is that it has taken the BBC nearly 8 years to decide that this finding is newsworthy. This is not new news for the diving medicine community.

Peter

[andrebasso]

Bottom line is that it has taken the BBC nearly 8 years to decide that this finding is newsworthy. This is not new news for the diving medicine community.

Peter

Not true, this is a very recent report, but I disagree with the BBC's upbeat stance. I read the BBC article, I must say it almost completely gets the facts wrong on this recent trial. I've been following this company for a few months.. In a nutshell... NMT Medical, the company that ran the double blind trial involving their patented non invasive PFO closure technology was finished about 5 days ago - NOT eight years ago. New or old news, it doesn't really matter. The trials were generally considered a failure. The MIST trial run by NMT showed the percentage of people who felt "relief" from their migraine headaches was only a 20% difference from the those who experienced relief from the "sham" placebo procedure in which nothing was implanted. What they don't say in that article is that a number of people who experienced dramatic improvement were in the placebo group, disastrous to say the least. Also, there were numerous problems and medical reactions to the implant. I listened to the investor conference call yesterday, the tone was not very upbeat.

Their stock was slammed as a result. check (NMTI)
Hehehehe, I did a double call + put option on that baby. $$ $$
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[Pete]

The report reported by the BBC is new but the concept that PFO may be associated with migraine with aura is not. Check out the papers I listed all of which appeared in peer reviewed medical journals.

Peter

[andrebasso]

The report reported by the BBC is new but the concept that PFO may be associated with migraine with aura is not. Check out the papers I listed all of which appeared in peer reviewed medical journals.

Peter

I agree the "concept" is old but the BBC wasn't talking about the concept. The BBC report was based on the recent double blind clinical trials that provided the doctors real world numbers to work with. That was the first time in medical history the theory has ever been tested on patients in a trial.

Anyhow, I don't agree with the BBC's take on the data but that's a different story.
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