Gunnar Bovim

• Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Background: The declining incidence of stroke, ischemic heart disease (IHD) and dementia (the triple threat) in Norway encourages further investigation. We analysed the risks and trends of the three conditions using data from the Global Burden of Disease study (GBD). Methods: We used GBD 2019 estimations for age-, sex-, and risk factor-specific...

There is little prospectively gathered data on the course of headaches during pregnancy and postpartum, and the influence of breastfeeding is unclear. This is a large, prospective study, which invited all pregnant women in the catchment area during a defined period. All participants (n = 2,126) filled in questionnaires concerning headache. Among th...

To investigate whether quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) recorded within a few days after a generalized seizure can improve the discrimination between alcohol-related seizures (ARSs), seizures in epilepsy and other seizures. In addition, we wanted to evaluate the influence of various external factors on QEEG, e.g., drug use, time from seiz...

To investigate the occipital EEG response to 18 and 24Hz photic stimulation (the H-response) in alcohol-related seizures (ARS). Twenty-two ARS patients, 15 of whom had a withdrawal seizure (WS) were compared with patients with recent seizures of other causes: 21 patients with epilepsy, and 30 Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) negati...

Cytokines have been measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from headache patients [infrequent episodic tension-type headache (TTH) and migraine with or without aura, all during attack, and cervicogenic headache] and compared with levels in pain-free individuals. Both proinflammatory [interleukin (IL)-1beta, tumour necrosis factor-alpha and monocyte...

The main objective of this study was to investigate the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) genotype as a possible risk factor for migraine (both with and without aura) compared to controls. We also wanted to examine whether a clinical response to an ACE inhibitor, lisinopril, or an angiotensin II receptor blocker, candesartan, in migraine prophyla...

Migraine aura may be difficult to differentiate from transient ischemic attacks and other transient neurological disorders in pregnant women. The aims of the present study were to investigate and diagnose all pregnant women with transient neurological disorders of suspected central nervous system origin, and to compare this group with a control gro...

Acute and chronic headache attributed to whiplash injury are new diagnostic entities in the International Classification of Headache Disorders, second edition. A main objective of the present study was to assess the validity of these nosologic entities by studying the headache pattern in an inception cohort of 210 rear-end car collision victims and...

The aim of this large, cross-sectional, population-based study was to examine the association between sick leave and headache. Between 1995 and 1997, all 92 566 adults in Nord-Trøndelag County in Norway were invited to participate in a health survey. Out of 73 327 invited individuals <67 years old, a total of 38 192 (52%) responded to questions abo...

Migraine is a common episodic headache that predominantly affects young adults, particularly women in their most productive years. Many of the prophylactic agents available today have side-effects that are not compatible with long-term use. The discovery that drugs influencing the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), which have few side-effects, were ef...

We tested the hypothesis that structured epilepsy nursing improves quality of life (QOL). One hundred fourteen adult patients with uncontrolled epilepsy were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group was offered an interactive, 1-day group education program followed by extended nurse follow-up and...

Although an inverse relationship between pain sensitivity and hypertension has been described, it is still unknown whether hypertension may protect against chronic musculoskeletal complaints (MSCs). The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between blood pressure (BP) and prevalence of chronic MSCs at various anatomical sites. Two cons...

The main purpose of the present prospective study was to evaluate the course of migraine and non-migrainous headache during pregnancy and to estimate the occurrence of self-reported transient focal neurological symptoms. In total 1631 (77%) pregnant women completed the study and were followed-up during pregnancy. The first questionnaire (Q1) was se...

The aim of this large cross-sectional population-based study was to examine a possible positive or negative association between thyroid dysfunction and chronic musculoskeletal complaints (MSC). Between 1995 and 97, all 94,197 adults in Nord-Trøndelag County in Norway were invited to participate in a health survey. A total of 64,787 (69%) responded...

A study was undertaken to evaluate the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and chronic musculoskeletal complaints (MSC), and to determine how this relationship is influenced by change in SES. Two consecutive public health surveys within the county of Nord-Trøndelag, Norway, were conducted in 1984-86 (HUNT-1) and 1995-97 (HUNT-2). Among...

To find out how current regulations concerning epilepsy and driving licence are applied in clinical practice in Norway. A questionnaire was sent to all 344 members of the Norwegian Neurological Association. 56% responded within 3 months, most of them (152) working in the field of clinical neurology. The majority (73%) did not see reporting a "situa...

Various antihypertensive drugs have proven effective in migraine prophylaxis, most notably some of the -blockers and a calcium antagonist (flunarizin). Contraindications and side effects do, however, limit their use. Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II (All) receptor inhibitors are extensively used for both hypertensio...

The factual knowledge of epilepsy is often insufficient among patients with this disorder. Compliance problems due to ignorance are common, and counselling is extremely important. We have developed a simple 1-day, low-cost group education programme for patients with epilepsy, intended to be suitable in routine care. The programme aims to help patie...

De fleste kan tolerere litt hodepine av og til, men for enkelte kan hodesmerter formørke tilvaerelsen totalt Vondt i hodet er en vanlig plage, og de fleste har erfaringer med fenomenet. Tall fra Norge tyder på at 2 % av den voksne befolkning har kronisk hodepine, dvs. mer enn 14 dager per måned (1). Troen på at «hodepine er hodepine er hodepine» sy...

The aim of this large cross-sectional population-based study was to examine the association between migraine, non-migrainous headache and headache frequency with depression, and anxiety disorders. From 1995 to 1997, all 92 566 inhabitants aged 20 years and above in Nord-Trøndelag County in Norway were invited to participate in the Nord-Trøndelag He...

There is a paucity of effective, well-tolerated drugs available for migraine prophylaxis. To determine whether treatment with the angiotensin II receptor blocker candesartan is effective as a migraine-prophylactic drug. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study performed in a Norwegian neurological outpatient clinic from January...

Prevalence studies exploring the relation between socio-economic status (SES) and headache have shown conflicting results. This is the first prospective study analysing the relation between SES and risk of headache. A total of 22685 adults not likely to suffer from headache were classified by SES at baseline in 1984-1986, and responded to a headach...

Eur J Neurol. 2002;9:527-533. We have evaluated the association between headache and musculoskeletal symptoms in a large cross-sectional population-based study. Between 1995 and 1997, all 92 566 adults in Nord-Trondelag County in Norway were invited to participate in a health survey. A total of 51 050 (55%) responded to questions concerning headach...

Prevalence studies of the association between blood pressure and headache have shown conflicting results. The aim was to analyse the relation between blood pressure and risk of headache in a prospective study. A total of 22 685 adults not likely to have headache, had their baseline blood pressure measured in 1984-6, and responded to a headache ques...

To study if electroencephalogram (EEG) can discriminate between alcohol-related seizures (ARS) and seizures unrelated to alcohol use. Alcohol-related seizures was defined as a seizure in a patient with score > or = 8 in the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Twenty-seven patients with ARS (22 without epilepsy: ARSwE), 21 AUDIT-negat...

The aim of this large cross-sectional population-based study was to examine a possible positive or negative association between thyroid dysfunction and headache. Between 1995 and 1997, all 92 566 adults in Nord-Trøndelag County in Norway were invited to participate in a health survey. A total of 51 383 (56%) responded to a headache questionnaire, w...

Objectives: Alcohol-related neurological diseases are encountered frequently. Early diagnosis is essential, because minimal intervention effectively reduces hazardous alcohol consumption and may prevent permanent neurological damage. Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) is a valuable tool for the identification of alcohol abuse, but for unsele...

To determine the efficacy of an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor in the prophylaxis of migraine. Double blind, placebo controlled, crossover study. Neurological outpatient clinic. Sixty patients aged 19-59 years with migraine with two to six episodes a month. Treatment period of 12 weeks with one 10 mg lisinopril tablet once daily for one we...

The peripheral topography of the supraorbital (SON) and supratrochlear (STN) nerves and the superficial temporal branch of the auriculotemporal nerve (ATN) was investigated in 10 cadavers. The aim was to define the optimal locations for anaesthetic nerve blocks, as well as to help surgeons prevent nerve injuries. Specific measurements on the nerve...

The objective of this study was to estimate the 1-year prevalence of the following categories of headache; migraine, non-migrainous headache, frequent headache (>6 days/month), and chronic headache (>14 days/month). Between 1995 and 1997, all 92,566 inhabitants 20 years and older in Nord-Trøndelag county in Norway were invited to a comprehensive he...

Acute headache may be the presenting symptom of several conditions. Sometimes, a headache with an abrupt onset and unusual severity may occur, experienced by the patient as the worst headache ever. The diagnostic evaluation primarily aims at ruling out subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), as well as other serious causes of acute headache, such as mening...

Binge drinking at weekends is considered to be a predominant feature of alcohol consumption in the Nordic countries. Neurological diseases, such as seizures and stroke, have been reported to occur in temporal relation to alcohol intoxication and withdrawal. We wanted to investigate weekday variances in alcohol consumption in relation to the onset o...

We have assessed the validity and reliability of a self-administered headache questionnaire used in the 'Nord-Trøndelag Health Survey 1995-97 (HUNT)' in Norway, by blindly comparing questionnaire-based headache diagnoses with those made in a clinical interview of a sample of the participants. Restrictive questionnaire-based diagnostic criteria for...

The role of alcohol misuse in the genesis of seizures is probably often undetected. The aim was to investigate the utility of carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT) compared with other biomarkers and clinical examination in the diagnosis of alcohol related seizures. The study included consecutively 158 seizure patients-83 men and 75 women-with me...

The aim of the sudy was to investigate the influence of hazardous alcohol drinking on the occurrence of epileptic seizures, the semiology of such seizures, and the extent of the problem. A consecutive sample of 142 acute seizure patients (78 male and 64 female, mean age 46 (16–79) years) was studied. Control groups were 185 consecutive sciatica pat...

Segments of human temporal artery were placed in organ culture for up to 4 days and examined for endothelin ET(B) receptor activity in the presence and absence of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) by in vitro pharmacology and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The contractile effect of prostaglandin F...

In Lithuania, there is little awareness of the notion that chronic symptoms may result from rear end collisions via the so-called whiplash injury. After most such collisions no contact with the health service is established. An opportunity therefore exists to study post-traumatic pain without the confounding factors present in western societies. In...

To describe the clinical features of a Norwegian family with a combined central and peripheral demyelinating disease. Multiple case report. Three generations of a Norwegian family. Medical records were available for all 9 members of the second generation and 5 affected members in the third generation. At least 5 members had clinical features, neuro...

This article reviews some of the established data on thiamin and the most common symptoms of deficiency. Guidelines for appropriate therapy are offered. Thiamin or vitamin B1 was among the first vitamins to be discovered. Beriberi was the first disease to be associated with thiamin deficiency, and Wernicke's encephalopathy was shown to respond to t...

Headache is frequently reported as a chronic complaint after whiplash traumas. Criteria have been presented, but it has not been validated whether any specific headache type emerges after a trauma with whiplash mechanism. In a questionnaire-based historical cohort design, 202 adult Lithuanian individuals were interviewed 1-3 years after experiencin...

Myelin is synthesized by oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system and by Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system. A combined dysmyelinating/demyelinating process in the central nervous system and in the peripheral nervous system occurs only rarely. A brief review of these conditions is given in this article. Occasionally, coexistence o...

An anatomic study of the peripheral nerves innervating the occipital region. To study the topography of the extracranial occipital nerves, to define optimal locations for anesthetic nerve blockades, to provide guidelines to use with the suboccipital surgical approach, and to search for structures with putative pathogenetic implications in cases of...

Some aspects of cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) are reviewed. The condition causes stroke and vascular dementia. Pathological examination reveals multiple small, deep infarcts, leukoencephalopathy, and non-atherosclerotic, non-amyloid angiopathy which mainly involve the small cere...

Study Design. An anatomic study of the peripheral nerves innervating the occipital region. Objectives. To study the topography of the extracranial occipital nerves, to define optimal locations for anesthetic nerve blockades, to provide guidelines to use with the suboccipital surgical approach, and to search for structures with putative pathogenetic...

Pain pressure thresholds (PPT) were measured at 13 cephalic points bilaterally in 30 headache patients (10 with tension-type headache, 10 with migraine and 10 with cervicogenic headache) and 10 control subjects on three different days. During the sessions, the subjects reported their pain intensity on the right and left sides of the head on a visua...

There are four medical schools in Norway- in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Tromsø. The curriculum at each faculty has undergone many changes during the last decade. The four curricula vary in both content and teaching methods. Two of the faculties base their curricula on problem-based learning and two have chosen other approaches. Terms with clerkshi...

To assess the frequency and duration of symptoms suggesting peripheral nerve compression after long distance cycling. A questionnaire based cross sectional study among 260 participants in a Norwegian annual bicycle touring race of 540 km. Thirty-five of 160 responding males (22%) reported symptoms from the innervation area of the pudendal or cavern...

New therapeutic possibilities have recently been introduced for many neurological disorders. The demand for specialists is, accordingly, increasing. To investigate the present status, and to give some ideas as to the future recruitment of neurologists, a questionnaire study has been performed among all neurological departments and their residents....

In Lithuania, few car drivers and passengers are covered by insurance and there is little awareness among the general public about the potentially disabling consequences of a whiplash injury. We took this opportunity to study the natural course of head and neck symptoms after rear-end car collisions. In a retrospective questionnaire-based cohort st...

Glossopharyngeal neuralgia is a rare disease characterized by severe paroxysmal attacks of pain in the distribution of the 9th cranial nerve. The most important differential diagnosis is trigeminal neuralgia. Carbamazepin is the current drug of choice in therapy, but modern neurosurgical treatment will probably become more common in the future. Aut...

The restandardized version of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) was utilized in a study of patients with migraine (n = 17), tension headache (n = 18), cluster headache (n = 14) and cervicogenic headache (n = 18). The relationship between pain characteristics, sick-leave and the MMPI-2 scales was also evaluated. The migraine and c...

Caffeine is a widely used drug with various biological effects. The present investigation focuses on a possible influence of caffeine upon motor steadiness performance in tests routinely used in neuropsychological testing. Twenty-four healthy females between 23 and 38 years were investigated in a randomised double-blind crossover study. A significa...

The consumption of alcohol and other addictive drugs is quite low in Norway compared with other European countries. Nevertheless, many will experience some of the various drug effects on the brain. Alcohol, the legal substance, is responsible for most drug-related neurological effects in Norway. Alcohol use results in a variety of different effects...

Brain infarction is a frequent cause of emergency admission to hospital. We have made a retrospective study in order to describe patients who develop fatally elevated intracranial pressure. From 1991 to 1993, seven patients (3.3%) died within the first 96 hours after the symptoms appeared. All these patients died from elevated intracranial pressure...

Elevated intracranial pressure is a serious complication in the early phase after brain infarction. The most frequent cause of the elevated pressure is oedema following an infarction in the territory of the middle cerebral artery. Non-surgical treatment is inadequate in many of the patients. Although anecdotal, several reports concerning neurosurgi...

Samenvatting Bij diverse pijnsyndromen, waaronder ook bepaalde soorten hoofdpijn, is als diagnostische procedure gebruik gemaakt van meting van de drukpijndrempel (dpd). Bij cervicogene hoofdpijn is deze methode nog niet eerder toegepast. dpd-metingen geven mogelijk informatie over pathofysiologische mechanismen. Een eventueel verschil in dpd bij c...

SYNOPSIS The pathogenetic mechanism of tension headache (TH) is still unknown. The role of pericranial muscle tension in TH is also enigmatic. To evaluate this factor in chronic TH, pericranial muscles were paralysed in 6 chronic TH patients, using botulinum toxin. All patients fulfilled the IHS criteria of chronic TH associated with involvement of...

A randomized cross-sectional questionnaire was used to determine the prevalence of neck pain in Norwegian adults. The frequency and duration of neck pain were assessed. Reliable epidemiologic studies on the prevalence of neck pain in the general population have been sparse. A questionnaire that inquired about neck pain within the last year was sent...

A follow-up study was performed in nine patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) 37 months (mean) after shunting and 10 non-operated controls with comparable degrees of ventricular enlargement, gait disorder, and dementia. Five operated patients vs. no controls reported sustained general improvement (p < 0.02). Objectively impro...

Quantitative electroencephalography from the occipito-parietal region, gait, and psychometric tests were performed in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) before and after drainage of 40 ml CSF. The results were compared to those in demented controls. The EEG results were also analyzed with respect to possible correlations w...

Carbohydrate deficient transferrin has been proposed as an important marker for alcohol abuse. Using isoelectric focusing and two different radioimmunoassays we measured carbohydrate deficient transferrin throughout an alcohol withdrawal period in ten abusing men. Values within the normal range were found in two to four individuals, depending on th...

Drug treatment of acute ischemic stroke may be divided into four categories: antithrombotic treatment, thrombolytic treatment, neuronal protection, and other forms of treatment. Until now, no drug treatment has been properly documented as effective. However, several treatment programmes are currently being evaluated. Maintenance of the cerebral per...

SYNOPSIS The responses in cervicogenic headache to four different agents have been studied. Nitroglycerin was given sublingually to 27 patients. Eighteen patients got more than 20% increase of their headache. Of those with any headache increase at all, 12 got bilateral and 12 unilateral pain. The typical late cluster headache response to nitroglyce...

Infectious mononucleosis is a relatively common disease. In this paper, three patients with neurological symptoms related to infectious mononucleosis are described. Patient no. 1 had myelitis, one of the most frequent neurological complications. Patient no. 2 had cerebellar symptoms, with ataxia and disturbance of gait. In this case magnetic resona...

The frequency of insurance cases following traffic accidents involving the whiplash mechanism is increasing in Norway. The economic consequences are obviously great, both for the individual patient and for society. Declarations by medical specialists may be of vital importance when assessing the degree of medical invalidity. We have investigated so...