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Longitudinal neurofunctional changes in medication overuse headache patients after mindfulness practice in a randomized controlled trial (the MIND-CM study).

The journal of headache and pain
January 1, 1970
Davide Fedeli et al. (14 authors)
Journal ArticleRandomized Controlled TrialClinical Trial, Phase IIIHuman StudyClinical
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to determine the neurofunctional changes and clinical benefits of adding mindfulness practice to pharmacological treatment in patients with Chronic Migraine associated with Medication Overuse Headache (CM-MOH).

Results Summary

The study found that adding mindfulness to standard treatment significantly reduced headache frequency and improved functional connectivity in the Salience Network (SN) with the left posterior insula and sensorimotor cortex, correlating with better depression scores and increased cortical thickness in key brain regions.

Population

Patients diagnosed with Chronic Migraine associated with Medication Overuse Headache (CM-MOH) without severe neurological or psychiatric comorbidities.

Effective Dosage

Not specified

Duration

1 year

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (8)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
mindfulness practice added to pharmacological treatment as usual
decrease
headache frequency
CM-MOH patients
p = 0.028
showed a significant reduction
#1
mindfulness practice added to pharmacological treatment as usual
increase
SN functional connectivity with the left posterior insula
CM-MOH patients
p-FWE = 0.007
showed greater
#2
mindfulness practice added to pharmacological treatment as usual
increase
SN functional connectivity with the sensorimotor cortex
CM-MOH patients
p-FWE = 0.026
showed greater
#3
mindfulness practice added to pharmacological treatment as usual
decrease
depression scores
CM-MOH patients
r = -0.51, p = 0.038
was associated with improved
#4
mindfulness practice added to pharmacological treatment as usual
increase
cortical thickness in the insular cluster
CM-MOH patients
p = 0.015
showed a longitudinal increase
#5
mindfulness practice added to pharmacological treatment as usual
increase
anterior cingulate cortex thickness
CM-MOH patients
p-FWE = 0.02
reported increased
#6
Treatment as Usual
increase
most clinical variables
CM-MOH patients
-
showed an improvement
#7
mindfulness practice added to pharmacological treatment as usual
increase
most clinical variables
CM-MOH patients
-
showed an improvement
#8
Abstract

BACKGROUND: Mindfulness practice has gained interest in the management of Chronic Migraine associated with Medication Overuse Headache (CM-MOH). Mindfulness is characterized by present-moment self-awareness and relies on attention control and emotion regulation, improving headache-related pain management. Mindfulness modulates the Default Mode Network (DMN), Salience Network (SN), and Fronto-Parietal Network (FPN) functional connectivity. However, the neural mechanisms underlying headache-related pain management with mindfulness are still unclear. In this study, we tested neurofunctional changes after mindfulness practice added to pharmacological treatment as usual in CM-MOH patients. METHODS: The present study is a longitudinal phase-III single-blind Randomized Controlled Trial (MIND-CM study; NCT03671681). Patients had a diagnosis of CM-MOH, no history of neurological and severe psychiatric comorbidities, and were attending our specialty headache centre. Patients were divided in Treatment as Usual (TaU) and mindfulness added to TaU (TaU + MIND) groups. Patients underwent a neuroimaging and clinical assessment before the treatment and after one year. Longitudinal comparisons of DMN, SN, and FPN connectivity were performed between groups and correlated with clinical changes. Vertex-wise analysis was performed to assess cortical thickness changes. RESULTS: 177 CM-MOH patients were randomized to either TaU group or TaU + MIND group. Thirty-four patients, divided in 17 TaU and 17 TaU + MIND, completed the neuroimaging follow-up. At the follow-up, both groups showed an improvement in most clinical variables, whereas only TaU + MIND patients showed a significant headache frequency reduction (p = 0.028). After one year, TaU + MIND patients showed greater SN functional connectivity with the left posterior insula (p-FWE = 0.007) and sensorimotor cortex (p-FWE = 0.026). In TaU + MIND patients only, greater SN-insular connectivity was associated with improved depression scores (r = -0.51, p = 0.038). A longitudinal increase in cortical thickness was observed in the insular cluster in these patients (p = 0.015). Increased anterior cingulate cortex thickness was also reported in TaU + MIND group (p-FWE = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Increased SN-insular connectivity might modulate chronic pain perception and the management of negative emotions. Enhanced SN-sensorimotor connectivity could reflect improved body-awareness of painful sensations. Expanded cingulate cortex thickness might sustain improved cognitive processing of nociceptive information. Our findings unveil the therapeutic potential of mindfulness and the underlying neural mechanisms in CM-MOH patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Name of Registry; MIND-CM study; Registration Number ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT0367168; Registration Date: 14/09/2018.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
HumansMindfulnessHeadache Disorders, SecondaryFemaleMaleAdultMiddle AgedLongitudinal StudiesSingle-Blind MethodMagnetic Resonance ImagingDefault Mode NetworkCerebral Cortex
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy75/10
Quality85/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations5
Citations/Year5.0
Relative Citation Ratio2.28
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.75
Weight Score1.63
Normalized Score0.67
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