WHAT DID THE AUTHORS STUDY?
In their article “Before the headache: infant colic as an early life expression of migraine,” Dr. Gelfand and colleagues1 studied a large number of mother-infant pairs to better understand the cause of infant colic. Colic is defined as a situation in which an otherwise healthy baby cries or displays symptoms of distress frequently and for extended periods. In these instances, there is no clear cause for the discomfort. Colic usually starts within the first month of life, and often disappears rather suddenly. In most babies, colic stops before the infant is 3 to 4 months old. In some babies, colic can last up to 12 months.
The cause of colic is not well known. Limited data link infant colic to migraines. It is known that migraine is genetic: children of a person with migraines are more likely to have migraine as well. If colic is a symptom of migraine, one would expect that colic should occur more often if a parent had migraine. Dr. Gelfand and colleagues designed a study to better understand the relationship between colic and migraine.
HOW WAS THE STUDY DONE?
At the University of San Francisco Pediatrics Clinic, between July 2010 and September 2011, 165 mothers and their infants were studied. Dr. Gelfand et al. included infants between 2 and 12 weeks old in the study because colic symptoms peak in this age group. In the pediatrician's office, the mother completed a questionnaire to screen for colic in her baby, and migraine in herself. When present, fathers also filled out a questionnaire. The answers to the questions were …
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
REQUIREMENTS
If you are uploading a letter concerning an article:
You must have updated your disclosures within six months: http://submit.neurology.org
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
