New York Headache blog

It is hard to believe the report of a group of Danish doctors who found 28 out of 61 (46%) patients undergoing surgery for a herniated lumbar disc to have a bacterial infection in those discs. Just like the idea that stomach ulcers are caused...

Migraine aura seems to indicate a different underlying brain condition than that of migraine without aura. We know that the risk of strokes is higher in patients who suffer from migraines with aura. The increase in this risk is very slight...

At the New York Headache Center we always try to avoid using medications and use alternative (i.e. non-drug) therapies first. We often succeed, but unfortunately, many of our patients do end up taking some drugs. However, when choosing among...

A variety of electrical devices have been tried for the treatment of headaches and have been mentioned in several of my previous blogs. One study showed that passing direct current through the head may help migraines and depression. Another study...

Fish oil supplements may protect the heart in stressful situations, according to a study conducted in Michigan with 67 healthy volunteers. The researchers, led by Jason Carter, looked at the effect of fish oil on body’s stress response. The volunteers...

Advances in MRI imaging have allowed visualizing the trigeminal nerve and a group of Australian researchers reported on their findings in three conditions which cause facial pain. Trigeminal nerve supplies sensation to the face and facial pain...

The manufacturer of Petadolex brand of butterbur sent me an email saying that the FDA conducted an inspection of their manufacturing plant in Germany. However, my concerns about butterbur, which I mentioned in a previous blog post, has...

Bipolar disorder and other psychiatric problems are 2-3 times more common in those who suffer from migraine headaches and migraines are 2-3 times more common in patients with mental illness. Those who suffer from migraines are very familiar with...

Surprisingly, Botox appears to relieve hemiplegic migraines, according to a report by two neurologists from the Mayo Clinic. They describe 5 female patients who suffered from very frequent and severe migraine headaches with four of them having...

Auditory hallucinations can be associated with chronic headaches, according to a report by our own Dr. Sara Crystal and three other neurologists from the Bronx. These four doctors reported on 7 of their own patients and also described 8 patients...

The vascular theory of migraine suggested that changes in the blood vessel size and blood flow were responsible for the development of migraine attacks. This theory went out of fashion and for the past 20 years most headache experts thought that...

Increased intracranial pressure is an under-diagnosed cause of difficult to treat headaches. Persistent chronic headaches that do not respond to treatment may be due to increased pressure inside the head. These headaches may resemble...

Acute treatment of episodic and chronic migraine headaches in the US leaves a lot to be desired. Results of the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention Study lead by Dr. Richard Lipton indicates that the acute treatment of migraine headaches in...

Stimulation of the sphenopalatine ganglion seems to relieve cluster headaches according to a study by European neurologists. The study examined the efficacy of the on-demand sphenopalatine(SPG) stimulation in chronic cluster headache patients...

Candesartan (Atacand) is a relatively new blood pressure medication in the family of ACE receptor blockers (ARBs), which is also effective in the preventive treatment of migraine headaches. Another ARB, Benicar, or olmesartan has also been...

Half of the kids seen by pediatric headache specialists suffer from chronic migraines. Dr. Hershey and his colleagues at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital presented results of a study that compared cognitive behavioral treatment combined with...

A non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) drug naproxen (Aleve) alone seems to be more effective than naproxen combined with sumatriptan (Treximet), according to a study by Dr. Roger Cady and his colleagues from Missouri, which was presented...

Nausea of migraines responds to an acupressure device, according to two German doctors who presented their findings last week at the International Headache Congress in Boston. I spoke to one of the authors, Dr. Zoltan Medgyessy about his study...

Oxygen inhalation is a proven method of treating cluster headaches. The patient usually rents a large oxygen tank and breathes in pure oxygen through a mask whenever he gets an attack (it is usually a he since 5 times as many men suffer from...

Infantile colic seems to be a precursor or an early manifestation of migraine headaches in children. A new European study published in the journal JAMA supports an earlier American study mentioned in one of my previous blogs. This European study...

Botox is approved by the FDA for the prophylactic treatment of chronic migraine headaches. Chronic migraine was arbitrarily defined by headache researchers as headache occurring on more than 14 days each month. Epidemiological research by Dr...

Calcium inside the nerve cells (neurons) seems to be crucial in making pain chronic, according to a publication in the journal Neuron by researchers in Heidelberg, Germany. They discovered that in patients with persistent pain, calcium in the...

Female pelvic/genital pain is more common in women with chronic Headache, according to a study presented by Canadian neurologists.The study was carried out by researchers and clinicians at the Wasser Pain Management Centre, Mount Sinai Hospital...

Leeches are not pleasant to look at, but they have been used for medicinal purposes for hundreds of years. Growing up in the Ukraine in the 1960s I remember (this is hard to forget) seeing big jars with leeches in a corner pharmacy. Patients would...

Many migraine sufferers suffer from nausea and vomiting and cannot swallow pills or even if they can swallow them, it takes too long for them to work. Injections is one way to overcome this problem, but nasal spray is a much more pleasant...

In my previous post I mentioned a TENS unit spcifically designed for the treatment of migraine headaches. It was available for a short time on Amazon.com, but no longer is. It is sold at COSTCO stores in Canada and in Europe. Howere, regular...

Trigeminal neuralgia is an extremely painful condition that causes electric-like pain in the face. It is often misdiagnosed as a dental problem, sinus headache or another condition. The pain is very brief, just like an electric shock, but it can...

Zomig (zolmitriptan) is the fourth triptan (out of seven) to become available in a generic form. This spells big relief for migraine sufferers who rely on this drug. Only tablets and orally disintegrating tablets (ZMT) will become available, not...

Pregnant women are admonished not to take any medications while pregnant. Fortunately, two out of three women stop having migraines during pregnancy, especially during the second and third trimester. Unfortunately, one third of women continue...

Botox appears to be effective for the treatment of chronic post-traumatic headaches in service Members with a history of mild traumatic brain injury according to a recent report by Dr. Juanita Yerry and her colleagues at Ft. Bragg, NC...