Headaches

Children and Chronic Daily Headache

by

Research suggests that  1.5% of middle school children are affected by chronic daily headache. However, some children who suffer may outgrow the disabling condition. “Our results suggest there is hope for children who experience these headaches and for their parents, who also deal with the frustration and considerable disability that this condition can bring,” said Shuu-Jiun Wang, MD/ “Over time…children get better, eventually having less frequent migraine headaches as young adults.” Dr. Wang conducted a study that followed 122 children in middle school with chronic daily headache between the ages of 12 and 14 years old. Chronic daily headache was defined as experiencing 15 or more headache days per month, with each headache lasting for two or more hours per day. The study found 60% of the children in the study no longer had chronic daily headache after 1 year. … Read more

Todd Rozen – Geisinger

by

Dr. Todd Rozen, who was formerly at the Michigan Head Pain and Neurological Institute has moved to Geisinger Health System in Danville, PA. I saw Dr. Rozen several times while he was located in the midwest, since it was in driving distance. However now that he is in Pennsylvania, driving is out of the question and I don’t think I will be seeing him anymore. This is unfortunate since he is without a doubt the best doctor I have seen thus far. I am not quite sure why he made the move as many at MHNI are quite upset. However, others in PA must be happy for the opportunity to possibly get treated for NDPH and their chronic headache conditions. I just thought I would make an update in case you missed it.

Migraine in Midlife Can Cause Increased Lesions Later in Life

by

A new study shows that middle-aged women who had migraine headaches with aura had a higher prevalence of brain lesions when older. Recent studies suggest migraine attacks may be associated with brain lesions identified on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), particularly in the cerebellum, according to background information in the article. Ann I. Scher, Ph.D., and colleagues examined the relationship of midlife migraine symptoms and late-life infarct (tissue death)-like lesions evident on MRI. The study included 4,689 men and women in Reykjavik, Iceland who were followed-up since 1967, examined, and interviewed about migraine symptoms in midlife. Between 2002 and 2006, more than 26 years later, brain MRIs were performed. Participants reporting headaches once or more per month were asked about migraine symptoms and were classified as having migraine without aura, migraine with aura, or nonmigraine headache. A comprehensive cardiovascular risk assessment … Read more

Needles and Their Effects on Headaches

by

Two separate systematic reviews by Cochrane Researchers show  acupuncture is  for prevention of headaches and migraines. However the reviews show  faked procedures, where needles are incorrectly inserted, may be as effective. “Much of the clinical benefit of acupuncture might be due to non-specific needling effects and powerful placebo effects, meaning selection of specific needle points may be less important than many practitioners have traditionally argued,” says lead researcher of both studies, Klaus Linde. Two seperate studies were done one with migraine and the other with tension type headaches. Patients treated with acupuncture over an 8 week time course, suffered fewer headaches compared to those who were given only pain killers. In the migraine study, acupuncture was superior to proven prophylactic drug treatments, but faked treatments were no less effective. In the tension headache study, true acupuncture was actually slightly more … Read more

Headache After Brain Injury

by

U.S. soldiers who have been in Iraq are returning to the United States with headaches. This is the result of a mild trauma or exposure to a blast. This information was presented at American Academy of Neurology’s 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle. The study involved nearly 1,000 U.S. Army soldiers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan last year in 2008. All had experienced a concussion, head injury or blast exposure while deployed. Nearly 98 percent of the soldiers reported having headaches during the last three months of their deployment. The headaches started within one week of the traumatic brain injury for 37 percent of the soldiers, and within one to four weeks for 20 percent. Among the soldiers whose headaches started within a week of the injury, 60 percent had migraine-like headaches and 40 percent had headaches that interfered with their … Read more