New York Headache blog

Last month Allergan reported that their oral CGRP receptor antagonist, ubrogepant was safe and effective in the acute treatment of migraine attacks (see my post). Today, results of a phase 3 trial of a similar drug, rimegepant were...

The first of the four CGRP monoclonal antibodies developed for the prevention of migraines is expected to be approved by the FDA in the next 2-3 months. The other three should be approved within a year. All four will be given...

The news headlines are filled with stories of professional football players suffering from brain damage, but you do not to have to participate in sports to sustain a concussion – it is an everyday occurrence. In the US, in 2013 there were 2.8 million...

Lidocaine is an effective local anesthetic that is injected for dental procedures, minor surgeries, as well as nerve blocks, including nerve blocks for migraines, cluster, and other types of headaches. Since it is a numbing medicine, lidocaine...

TMJ syndrome is a disorder which often coexists with migraine and tension-type headaches and is characterized by pain in the jaw joint and surrounding muscles. It is very common, but the exact cause remains unclear. In many...

An electric stimulation device, gammaCore has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an acute treatment of pain associated with migraine in adult patients. gammaCore is a hand-held device that stimulates...

A recent article in the New York Times by the health columnist, Jane Brody, Trying the Feldenkrais Method for Chronic Pain, described her very positive experience with the Feldenkrais method. Then, at about the same time a patient...

Feverfew (tanacetum parthenium) is one of the oldest herbal remedies for the treatment of migraine headaches. It was first mentioned as a treatment for inflammation 2,000 years ago. Feverfew is a member of the daisy family and all...

Survivors of terrorist attacks are four times more likely to suffer from migraines and three times more likely to suffer from tension-type headaches, according to a study just published in Neurology. The researchers evaluated 213 of 358...

Deficiency of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is the second most common deficiency in migraine sufferers after magnesium. Fully one third of migraine sufferers are deficient in CoQ10, according to a study by Dr. Andrew Hershey and his colleagues...

Magnesium deficiency is found in up to 50% of migraine sufferers, 40% of those with cluster headaches, 45% of the elderly diabetics, and in a high percentages of people with other chronic diseases. Magnesium has been shown to...

A new report by doctors at UC Irvine describes successful treatment of 9 children aged 8 to 17 with migraine headaches using Botox injections. It may sound surprising, but unfortunately children also suffer from chronic migraines. Chronic...

A group of highly respected researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine just published their second article in the journal Headache on the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks in migraine sufferers. Not surprisingly, they have...

Two landmark studies on an entirely new type of treatment for migraines have been just published in the New England Journal of Medicine. One of the reports describes a phase 3 trial (final phase that can lead to the FDA approval), which...

Excessive consumption of marijuana can lead to bouts of severe nausea and vomiting, which in medicalese is called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS). With many states legalizing medical and recreational marijuana, there...

Psychological factors play a major role in migraines. This is not to say that migraine is a psychological disorder – we have good genetic and brain imaging studies confirming its strong biological underpinnings. The divide between biological...

People who have experienced “visual snow” know what it means. Their vision tends to be distorted by white spots that resemble what you see on the television when there is no signal. At the latest meeting of the International...

Curcumin, which is one of the ingredients in turmeric, has long been touted for many of its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. A study presented at the 2017 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference showed...

Ketamine is a medicine that is sometimes given intravenously for anesthesia. It is a controlled drug because it can induce euphoria and is potentially addictive. In a previous post I mentioned several anecdotal reports about the beneifical...

There is little doubt that stem cells, along with genetics and computer science will revolutionize medicine. There are more than a dozen journals devoted to stem cell research and many general and speciality medical journals...

Chronic pain is known to alter the structure of the brain. Mayo Clinic researchers used MRI scans to examine brains of 29 patients with post-traumatic headaches and compared their scans to those of 31 age-matched healthy...

Biome, or the collection of bacteria living in our bodies has been receiving belated and well deserved attention. The discovery that bacteria living in our intestines can cause cerebral cavernous malformations or CCM (see photo)...

A new study by Swiss researchers compared the effect of high intensity interval training (HIT) with moderate intensity continuous training (MCT) and with no exercise at all on the number of migraine headache days. The results were presented...

Botox is the most effective and the safest preventive treatment for migraine headaches. However, in a very small number of patients, Botox loses its effectiveness over time. This happens for two main reasons – the person develops...

Bright light bothers many migraine sufferers and in some, a flash of bright light, such as sun reflecting off a window glass or water can instantly trigger a severe migraine. Sensitivity to light may be color dependent, according...

Caffeine and opioid (narcotic) drugs, if taken regularly, are proven to worsen headaches. This will not come as a surprise to anyone drinking large amounts of coffee – skipping your morning cup will leave you with a headache. Taking too..

Sumatriptan (Imitrex), rizatriptan (Maxalt) and the other 5 triptans work on serotonin receptors to stop a migraine attack. Many antidepressants, such as fluoxetine (Prozac), escitalopram (Lexapro), that belong to the SSRI family...

Researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago examined possible correlation between magnesium level on admission to the hospital with the size of a stroke due to bleeding as well as functional outcomes. Their findings were published...

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) which are found in fish oil, have been studied in a wide variety of diseases, ranging from Alzheimer’s disease to Herpes Zoster (shingles). Omega-3 PUFA have proven anti-inflammatory...

Sleep disturbances and fatigue are more common in patients with chronic migraine headaches than in people without migraines. Sometimes it is not clear what came first, migraines or the sleep problem with secondary fatigue...