New York Headache blog

We recently started using RightEye eye-tracking equipment which can help our patients who are suffering from visual difficulties due to migraines, concussion, or traumatic brain injury (TBI). Many brain disorders can impair the control...

The evidence is growing that those with low vitamin D levels are at a higher risk for respiratory infections, including COVID-19. However, purists argue that we need more evidence and better evidence from randomized...

Phenelzine (Nardil) is an antidepressant which was approved by the FDA for the treatment of depression in 1961. It belongs to the family of monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors and it is a very effective antidepressant...

Ondansetron (Zofran) is not a migraine drug per se, but it is used for the treatment of nausea that often accompanies a migraine attack. It belongs to a different class of nausea drugs than the older drugs such as prochlorperazine...

Tonight at 6 PM (EST), Dr. Mauskop will speak at the Weekly Wellness with the American Migraine Foundation. He will discuss the role of exercise in the management of migraine headaches and the results of scientific clinical trials...

Metoclopramide (Reglan) is an anti-nausea drug that has been in use since 1979. Controlled studies have shown that metoclopramide stops not only nausea and vomiting...

It is hard to think or write about anything other than Covid-19, so here is some information on Covid-19 and headaches. The bad news is that the long-suffering headache patients are suffering more. Most hospitals...

Nerivio is a smartphone-controlled wireless device that provides electrical stimulation of the type that is similar to TENS units widely used in physical therapy for musculoskeletal disorders. It was approved by the FDA last year for...

Vitamin C or ascorbic acid (AA) was discovered by Albert von Szent-Györgyi for which he received the 1937 Nobel Prize in Medicine. Linus Poling, one of only 4 people to win the Nobel prize twice, devoted many years of his life...

Vitamin D level testing is no longer covered by many insurers and many doctors, NY Times, and other media consider taking vitamin D supplements of unproven benefit. I’ve written 10 blog posts over the past 12 years on...

OnabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) is a most remarkable medicine. It was first approved by the FDA in 1989 for two eye conditions and since then it received approval for another dozen conditions as varied as excessive sweating, very frequent...

Sarah Hiner, President of BottomLineInc interviews me for The Bottom Line Advocator podcast – 7 New Treatments for Migraines Just Released — with Alexander Mauskop, MD...

Galcanezumab (Emgality) is one of the three injectable monoclonal antibodies approved for the prevention of migraines. Pharmacological studies show that it takes up to a week for these drugs to reach their highest concentration...

Rimegepant (NURTEC ODT) is the second gepant approved for the acute treatment of migraine headaches. It blocks the same CGRP pathway as the injectable monoclonal antibodies that are used for the prevention of...

Nortriptyline (Pamelor) is a tricyclic antidepressant approved by the FDA only for the treatment of depression. However, with the introduction of SSRI family of antidepressants such as fluoxetine (Prozac) which...

Eptienzumab (Vyepti) was just approved by the FDA for the preventive treatment of migraine headaches. Eptinezumab is another monoclonal antibody that blocks the effect of CGRP, a chemical released during a migraine...

A group of American and Chinese researchers reported an objective way to diagnose migraine headaches using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The paper just published in Neurology used machine learning to...

Acupuncture has been subjected to a very large number of clinical trials for a variety of conditions, including migraine headaches. Dr. Zhang, a neurologist at Stanford and two of his colleagues have published a review of trials...

Nebivolol (Bystolic) is one of the newer, third generation beta-blockers, drugs used for the treatment of high blood pressure as well as migraine headaches. In Europe, it’s been in use for over 20 years. In addition to beta-blockade, it...

Lasmiditan (Rayvow) is the first (and probably the last) drug in the class of ditans. Just like the triptans (sumatriptan or Imitrex and other), it works through the serotonin system. However, it activates 5-HT1F serotonin...

Naratriptan (Amerge, Naramig) is a triptan with a longer duration of action of 6 hours, compared to sumatriptan, rizatirptan, zolmitriptan, eletriptan, and almotriptan, which work for 2-4 hours. The seventh triptan, frovatriptan...

Light sensitivity is a common feature of migraine headaches and during an attack most people prefer being in the dark. According to a Harvard professor, Dr. Rami Burstein, exposure to pure green light may be better than...

Naproxen (Aleve, Anaprox, Naprosyn) is a popular over-the-counter and prescription non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), which is often used for the treatment of migraine headaches. A combination of naproxen with...

If you suffer from migraines you are at a higher risk of having certain other medical problems, or comorbidities. They are not the result of having migraines, nor do those condition cause migraines. Most likely, they may have...

Mirtazapine (Remeron) is a tetracyclic antidepressant similar to tricyclic antidepressants and like tricyclics may have pain-relieving properties. The three and four cycles refer to the chemical formulas of these drugs, which...

Ubrogepant (Ubrelvy) is the first oral anti-CGRP drug to be approved by the FDA for the acute treatment of migraine attacks. It was developed by Allergan, manufacturer of Botox, the safest and arguably the most effective...

Milnacipran (Savella) is a drug that is approved by the FDA for the treatment of fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and tenderness in...

Metoprolol (Toprol) is one of the beta-blockers, drugs used for the treatment of hypertension and other heart conditions. It is one of the three beta-blockers (the other two are propranolol and timolol) that are included in...

When sumatriptan (Imitrex) was introduced in 1992 it was truly a breakthrough drug – the first drug specifically developed for the acute treatment of migraines. Sumatriptan and six other triptans have alleviated suffering of...

Methylergonovine (Methergine) is used intravenously or in a tablet form after childbirth to help stop bleeding from the uterus. Methylergonovine belongs to the class of drugs known as ergot alkaloids. A drug in this class that is...