Vanessa Rossoni de Oliveira

Dietary aspects of migraine trigger factors.

The significance of dietary factors as triggers for migraines is controversial, and the assessment of this topic is complex and inconclusive. In order to evaluate the published evidence on dietary triggers, a critical review of the literature was performed by conducting a search for food item descriptors linked to migraines in the PubMed and SciELO databases. Reviews and relevant references cited within the articles that resulted from the search were also included. Of the 45 studies reviewed, 16 were population studies that involved the association between migraines and eating habits or the prevalence of related dietary factors; 12 involved interventions or analyzed observational prospective cohorts; and 17 were retrospective studies. Approximately 30 dietary triggers were explored in total, although only seven of these were addressed experimentally. In the prospective studies, patients were instructed to keep a diary; two of these studies involved dietary interventions. Conclusions that are based on nonpharmacological prophylactic strategies with a scientific basis and that show an association between certain dietary factors and the triggering of migraines are limited by the lack of prospective studies with clear experimental designs. Nevertheless, the high frequency of possible specific dietary triggers validates efforts to elucidate the involvement of food-related factors in precipitating migraines.

Body mass index, abdominal obesity, body fat and migraine features in women

BACKGROUND Studies seeking to establish an association between migraine and anthropometric parameters have thus far been inconclusive. Furthermore, drugs used for migraine prophylaxis may be associated with changes in body weight. OBJECTIVE To investigate the potential association of anthropometric parameters and body fat percentage with attack patterns and use of prophylactic medication in migraineurs. METHODS Cross-sectional study that assessed the body mass index, waist circumference, body fat percentage and related clinical variables (characteristics of attacks and the use of prophylactic medication) in female outpatients with migraine. RESULTS 166 female migraineurs aged ≥18 years (mean age, 45 ± 14 years) were included in the study. Migraine without aura was most prevalent (71.7%). Mean body mass index and body fat percentage were 27.8±6.0 kg/m² and 36.4 ± 8.3% respectively. Body mass index and waist circumference were weakly correlated with frequency of attacks over 6 months (rs = 0.162, p < 0.05 and rs = 0.187, p < 0.05 respectively). These correlations remains weak considering only premenopausal women, but disappear in the older women. Stratification of analysis by migraine type field shows a moderate correlation between migraine with aura and frequency of attacks over 6 months and body mass index (rs = 0.369, p < 0.05), as well as waist circumference (rs = 0.423, p < 0.01). Patients who were on prophylactic medication had higher body mass index, waist circumference, and body fat percentage values (p < 0.01, Student t-test). CONCLUSION This study revealed a potential, though tenuous association between migraine and anthropometric parameters and frequency of attacks, which does not reflect on the duration, severity, and disability of attacks, with patterns differing by migraine type, reproductive age and prophylactic medication.

Genetic and environmental risk factors for developmental dyslexia in children: systematic review of the last decade

ABSTRACT Despite advances in the characterization of developmental dyslexia (DD), several questions regarding the interplay between DD-susceptibility genes and environmental risk factors remain open. This systematic review aimed at answering the following questions: What has been the impact of new resources on the knowledge about DD? Which questions remain open? What is the investigative agenda for the short term? Forty-six studies were analyzed. Despite the growing literature on DD candidate genes, most studies have not been replicated. We found large effects on causative genes and smaller environmental contributions, involving maternal smoking during pregnancy, SES and the DYX1C1-1259C/G marker. Implications are discussed.

Emotional interference of baby and adult faces on automatic attention in parenthood.

Protecting and nurturing offspring have been crucial to human evolution. For that reason, babies are very salient emotional stimuli to human beings. The current study compared the emotional interference of baby and adult faces on the automatic attention in 61 parents and nonparents (36 women, 20–35 years old; parents [n = 33] had a single child aged up to 2 years old). Images of distressed, happy, and neutral baby faces, and fearful, happy, and neutral adult faces, were used in a go/no-go paradigm to assess attentional bias. Attentional bias indexes were calculated for biases toward baby distress, baby versus adult faces, and adult fear. Parents showed a higher attentional bias toward baby versus adult faces (M = 17.62, SD = 50.52) than nonparents (M = −8.52, SD = 32.39), F(1) = 5.39, p = .024, &eegr;2 = 0.08. This bias was independent of the emotion expressions in the face stimuli. This study demonstrates that parental status influences attentional bias toward baby faces in men and women, and contributes further to the literature that previously focused mainly on women.