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Transient global amnesia (TGA) is a very frightening condition. Suddenly, you feel confused and disoriented. You don’t know where you are, what time it is, what you are supposed to be doing. You can’t remember what you...

Cluster headaches are considered to cause the most severe pain of any type of headache. Once the cluster period begins, headaches occur once or several times a day with each attack lasting 1-3 hours. We do have a new...

My new book, The End of Migraines: 150 Ways to Stop Your Pain, was just published by Amazon. It is also available on Google Play and Kobo. I am very grateful to all my colleagues who took the time to read the book and...

The loss of the sense of smell is the second most common presenting symptom of COVID. It occurs in 65% of patients. Fatigue occurs in 68% and headache, in 43%. Severe loss of the sense of smell was still present in 11% of...

Persistent post-traumatic headache (PTH), paradoxically, is more common after a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) than after a severe one. In a recently published study, researchers in Indiana examined possible...

Nerivio device is approved by the FDA for the acute treatment of migraine attacks in adults. A study just published in the journal Headache indicates that it may be effective in the treatment of migraine in adolescents, aged 12 to 17...

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...

Feldenkrais method can appear magical but it is rooted in good science. It has withstood the test of time. Moshe Feldenkrais, a prominent Israeli physicist, developed his method over 70 years ago. You can read more about the...

This is a common question I get from patients. Botox was first approved by the FDA in 1989. The CGRP monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), in 2018. Long-term safety of Botox is well established. I’ve treated many pregnant women...

Zonisamide (Zonegran) is an epilepsy drug similar to topiramate in its mechanism of action. Unfortunately, it shares its side effects as well. These include fatigue, difficulty with concentration and memory, nausea, and other...

Cefaly is a neurostimulation device that was approved by the FDA in 2014. Until October of this year, it required a prescription. Several clinical trials proved the device to be not only effective but also very safe. Now it can be...

Zolmitriptan (Zomig, Zomig ZMT, Zomig NS) is one of seven triptans sold in the US. It is available in tablets, orally disintegrating tablets, and nasal spray. The nasal spray is approved for children 12 and older. Both tablets and...

Many studies have shown that virtual reality experience can relieve pain. The first such study in burn patients was published 20 years ago. A comprehensive review of this topic, Immersive Virtual Reality and Virtual Embodiment...

Verapamil (Calan, Isoptin) is an effective drug for the prevention of cluster headaches. It is sometimes used for migraines as well. However, the evidence for its efficacy is weak. A double-blind crossover trial by Dr. Glen Solomon...

Fortunately, migraines improve during pregnancy in the majority of women. None of the preventive drugs for migraine are approved by the FDA for pregnant women. The only medicine that is considered safe is a beta-blocker...

People who suffer from migraines often have a variety of visual symptoms. These include seeing an aura prior to the onset of headache, blurred vision, difficulty reading on screens or even on paper, and eye pain. Patients with...

Venlafaxine (Effexor) is the first drug in the serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI) class. It was approved by the FDA for the treatment of depression in 1993. At low doses, venlafaxine works as a selective serotonin reuptake...

If you’ve never experienced a hangover headache, a group of Spanish researchers can tell you what it feels like. They set out to evaluate and characterize what the international headache classification calls the “delayed alcohol-induced...

Tramadol (Ultram) is a mild narcotic (opioid) pain killer. Just like other opioids it is not a good choice to treat an acute migraine attack. Besides its addiction potential, it does not work well for most migraine patients, can cause nausea...

Frequent use of marijuana has a negative effect on the developing brain. Researchers at Tulane and Dartmouth medical schools looked at the possible protective effect of marijuana in severe head injury. The results were recently...

Cannabis has known anti-inflammatory properties. A group of researchers from UCSD published a study, Recent cannabis use in HIV is associated with reduced inflammatory markers in CSF and blood. They measured a variety...

Topiramate (Topamax) is one of the most popular preventive drugs for migraine. This is not because it is more effective than other approved drugs. It is because it can cause weight loss. The drug manufacturer tried to get it...

It’s been a year since the introduction of Nerivio, an electrical stimulation device for the acute treatment of migraines. One of the unique features of the device is that it is controlled by a smartphone app. This allows Theranica...

Vitamin D deficiency predisposes to or worsens many different medical problems. I’ve written at least a dozen blog posts on vitamin D. A group of South Korean researchers just published in the journal Neurology a study...

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland located in the brain. The release of melatonin helps us fall asleep. Melatonin supplements have been used to treat insomnia. The results of clinical trials, however, are contradictory...

Tizanidine (Zanaflex) is a muscle relaxant that has been shown to relieve chronic migraines in a 200-patient double-blind study by Dr. Joel Saper and his colleagues. It may be particularly effective in people with neck...

People who live at high altitudes tend to have lower oxygen levels in their blood. A higher percentage of them suffer from migraines than people who live at sea level. Oxygen is effective for a significant percentage of patients with...

Timolol (Blocadren), is the second of the two beta-blockers approved by the FDA for both hypertension and the prevention of migraines. Among the dozen or so beta-blockers, it is not very popular for either hypertension...

Histamine is best known as a part of the defense against allergies. But it is also an important neurotransmitter – a brain chemical involved in arousal, anxiety, the stress-related release of hormones, activation of the sympathetic...

Acetyl-leucine (Tanganil) is an amino acid that has been available in France for over 60 years as a prescription drug. It is approved for the treatment of low blood pressure and dizziness. However, there are no published studies of this...