Researchers in Cincinnati, OH led by Dr. Andrew Hershey reviewed information about the diagnosis, headache features, medication overuse, functional disability in a group of 1,170 children and adolescents with continuous headaches. They compared patients given the diagnosis of chronic migraine with those who were diagnosed as having new daily persistent headache.
The mean age was 14 and 79% of the group were girls. The authors reported that “The overwhelming majority of these youth had headaches with migrainous features, regardless of their clinical diagnosis. Most youth with continuous headache experienced severe migraine-related functional disability, regardless of diagnostic subgroup.”
Here is my take on NDPH adapted from the soon-to-be-released book, The End of Migraine: 150 Ways to Stop Your Pain:
New daily persistent headache (NDPH) is one of the dozens of types of headaches listed in the classification of headaches. This particular listing causes more harm than good. NDPH is defined by the single fact that the headache begins on a certain day and persists without a break. The classification says that NDPH may have features suggestive of either migraine or tension-type headache.
There are no parallels to NDPH in medicine. There is no new daily persistent asthma, or new daily persistent colitis, or any other “new daily” disease.
There does not appear to be any justification for having NDPH as a distinct condition. It does not have a typical clinical presentation and it has not led to any research or treatment. When you search for this condition on the internet, you will not find any effective treatment for it. The suffering of many patients is magnified by the loss of hope, worsening depression, and flagging will to live.
Most importantly, some patients with NDPH do respond to treatment. According to anecdotal reports and in my experience, Botox injections, intravenous magnesium, preventive drugs for migraines, and other treatments can be effective.
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