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Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity is known to cause or at least increase the frequency of migraine headaches. The recently published study in journal Headache by doctors from Columbia University and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City...

Children suffering from migraine headaches are more likely to have difficulty performing well in school, according to a new report published in Neurology. The doctors studied 5,671 children between ages 5 and 12 from 87 Brazilian cities and found...

I see many patients who tell me that “I’ve tried every migraine drug” and seek me out to explore non-drug approaches, such as herbs, supplements, Botox, acupuncture and other. I always try to avoid using medications (and have written books on...

Pituitary adenoma is a benign tumor of an endocrine gland that is situated underneath the brain. Pituitary gland is connected to the brain and it produces several hormones. The most common type of pituitary tumor is one that secretes prolactin, hormone...

Occipital nerve stimulation (ONS) has been reported to relieve refractory (difficult to treat) migraine headaches. Results of a clinical trial of ONS for patients with refractory migraine was just published in the journal Cephalalgia. This study was...

Steroid injections are routinely used at our Center for the treatment of cluster headaches and occipital neuralgia. I just received a call from a concerned patient with cluster headaches who recently received an occipital nerve block with...

Vertigo is a common symptom in patients suffering from migraine headaches. Vestibular migraine is a new category of migraine proposed by German researchers led by Dr. Andrea Radtke. In the current issue of Neurology Dr. Radtke and her colleagues...

Prodrome refers to symptoms that precede an actual attack of migraine. Migraine aura also precedes an attack, but it occurs 20 to 60 minutes before the headache and typically consists of visual disturbances or partial visual loss. Prodrome typically...

Migraine aura is a visual disturbance that usually precedes the headache in about 20% of migraine sufferers. The aura can sometimes occur without a headache and some people, myself included, always have migraines and auras independently of...

Infant colic appears to be more common in babies whose mothers suffers from migraines, according to a just published study by researchers at UCSF. This study looked at 154 infant-mother pairs and discovered that the risk of colic increases 2.6...

Rizatriptan (Maxalt) is the only migraine drug approved by the FDA for children as young as 6. Almotriptan (Axert), another drug in the same family of triptans, is approved for children from age 12 and up. Rizatriptan also has an advantage over...

Marijuana seems to help some patients with migraine and cluster headaches. However a new study suggests that it has more negative effects than previously thought. We know that smoking pot causes lung problems and risks serious damage to various...

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been convincingly proven to help pain and headache sufferers. Many people are very skeptical about the value of psychological treatments and tell me, just get rid of my migraines and I will be fine...

Spinal tap, or lumbar puncture headache occurs in one out of four people undergoing this procedure. Spinal tap is usually done to examine spinal fluid for infections, bleeding, multiple sclerosis, and other conditions. A small percentage of people...

Autoimmune dysfunction can cause pain according to a study just published in Neurology by a group of Mayo Clinic researchers. Dr. CJ Klein and his colleagues examined 316 patients who had antibodies to a structure involved in various nerve functions...

There is a long history of applying various ointments for the treatment of headaches. Widely available Tiger Balm, Head-On and other topical products can provide relief of milder headaches. There are no scientific studies proving that these...

Children with epilepsy are more likely to suffer from migraine headaches than children without epilepsy, according to a study just published in Neurology by researchers from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Sarah Kelley and her colleagues studied 400...

Omega-3 fatty acids (most abundantly found in fish oil) may relieve migraine headaches but only one small study found this to be the case. However, there is mounting evidence for beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acids for various conditions, such...

Slow breathing can reduce pain, according to a recently published study in The Journal of Pain. Researchers at the University of Tulsa led by Satin Martin evaluated the effect on pain of slow breathing, normal and fast breathing in 30 healthy...

Extraordinary benefits of meditation are described in the current issue of Neurology Now – The American Academy of Neurology’s Magazine for Patients & Caregivers”. Dr. Mauskop is extensively quoted in this article...

Many patients ask about the best type of magnesium supplement to take for the prevention of migraines and other symptoms. Research studies have compared magnesium oxide with chelated magnesium and a slow release form of magnesium chloride and...

Boswellia extract may relieve migraine, cluster and indomethacin-responsive headaches. Boswellia serrata (Indian frankincense) has been long reported to relieve migraines, although I could not find any scientific articles. A study recently...

We no longer recommend butterbur to our patients. We participated in a large (245 patients) placebo-controlled trial of butterbur, which showed that 150 mg of butterbur is effective in the prevention of migraine headaches when compared to placebo...

Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is more common in women who also suffer from migraines, according to a new study published in the journal Cephalalgia. Women with migraines are 20% more likely to also have RLS. This study involved 31,370 US health...

Until now, migraine headaches have not been associated with erectile dysfunction (ED). A study by Taiwanese doctors published in journal Cephalalgia makes a strong case that such a connection exists. The researchers analyzed electronic records...

Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) affects over a million Americans. It has no known cause or otherwise it would not be called a syndrome. For example, burning pain in the mouth due to chemotherapy damage to the mouth lining is called oral mucositis...

Many migraine sufferers complain of headaches on weekends, vacations, or after a period of stress. Researchers at the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx confirmed this observation by observing 17 migraine patients. The patients completed...

Behavioral therapies, such as biofeedback, progressive relaxation, cognitive therapy, and other alternative therapies are routinely recommended only by a quarter of headache specialists, according to research presented at the 54th Annual Scientific...

Many patients visiting the New York Headache Center with persistent post-traumatic headaches report having had a relatively mild head injury. The perception by neurologists has always been that milder injuries without loss of consciousness...

Sinus inflammation can seriously worsen migraine attacks according to a recent presentation by Dr. V. Martin and his colleagues made at the 54th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Headache Society in Los Angeles. Migraines are often mistaken...