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Hot Posts You Might Have Missed

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Here we are at the end of another year! It’s been a year of the unexpected for me, but maybe every year is like that.

New migraine and headache research

But let’s look back at some of the key posts from the past year that you might have missed. I hope this site has been a help to you, and that it will continue to give you information and tips for better health!

This year I’ll put the posts under certain categories…

Cutting-edge Research

Finding Better Medications

Cluster Headache

Living with Migraine

Treatment Tips

Thanks for reading and sharing and commenting! I look forward to serving you again in 2025. 🙂

Fish Oil and Soybean Oil

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In May, an interesting study was published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, looking at the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids – specifically eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), as a preventative for migraine.

Fish oil for migraine?

Omega-3 trials for migraine have had mixed results, but generally it’s recommended to fight migraine and promote general health. This particular trial certainly improved the profile of fish oils and other omega-3 oils for migraine. The results?

  • Fewer “migraine days” per month
  • Fewer days taking “painkillers”
  • Attacks which were less severe and disabling
  • Improved general quality of life
  • Less depression and anxiety

Before you rush out for more fish oil, there are a few things you need to know about this study.

First, this was specifically a high dose of EPA. 2 grams of fish oil were taken daily, which included 1.8g of EPA. The trial period was 12 weeks.

Now here’s an interesting side note. The control group took 2 grams of soybean oil a day as a placebo.

Soybean oil, a highly refined omega-6 oil, has been the source of quite a bit of controversy. Although many are now downplaying possible bad affects on the heart, some neurological concerns are now emerging. Is it possible that soybean oil could contribute to obesity, depression, and diabetes, at least in the high quantities people often consume? Some researchers think so (see America’s most widely consumed oil causes genetic changes in the brain).

So one might wonder if some of the benefits of the omega-3 oil in this study were more of a comparison with bad effects from the soybean oil!

The body needs both omega-3 oils and omega-6 oils. Some of the concerns come from the question of how much omega-6 we should be consuming. But in the study just mentioned, even soybean oil low in linoleic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid) still seemed to cause changes to the brain.

I’ll let you do your own research on all that. However, from the information we have so far, many migraine specialists would still recommend fish oil – again, both for migraine and for overall health.

Carlson Labs has an excellent omega-3 supplement with a good mix of EPA and DPA. For the brave, try their cod liver oil. Better yet, how about a couple helpings of fish per week?

For a benefit vs cost winner, Dr. Mauskop at the New York Headache Center recommends Vascepa, but you do need a doctor’s prescription to get it.

From what I’ve seen in the research so far, I’m happy with more fish oil and less soybean oil.

Headache and Migraine News: A Look Back…

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Thank you so much for joining me throughout 2023! I haven’t been able to post as much as I have in past years, but I’m still here. 🙂 I’m also still posting at least daily on Facebook and X, so you’ll want to check that out for a review of past articles, current news, and clinical trials you can be involved in. (I know we’ve had some technical problems at Facebook – hopefully everything is posting now!)

Here are the top 10 posts from this past year that I would especially recommend you check out. Pass them on if you think they’ll be a help to someone you know! And let’s keep fighting back against migraine and headache in 2024!

  1. Signs of an “Emergency Headache” – How do I know if I (or a loved one) should go to emergency?
  2. “Fluctuating” Tinnitus and Migraine – tinnitus that comes and goes, and its connection to migraine.
  3. Term of the Day: DTx – a treatment term you may be hearing a lot more of…
  4. Study: Moderate Aerobic Exercise for Migraine – How should I exercise to fight migraine?
  5. New Migraine Book Reminds Us, We’re Not Alone – Hot off the press! Consider investing a little of that Christmas money to gift one, or buy one for yourself.
  6. Coming Soon: CGRP Antagonist Nasal Spray – and in fact, already in some places. Check out this new treatment option.
  7. Migraine and Keto: New Study – Are there benefits to keto diets for migraine sufferers?
  8. Nerivio Device to Prevent Migraine? – A new use for a device you may already be familiar with…
  9. Magic Mushrooms for Cluster (but not what you expect) – emerging treatments to fight the terrible “suicide headache”.
  10. Migraine when you’re 60+ >> A few important observations – What is unique about migraine symptoms and treatments in older adults?

Headache from Neck Problems? Still Tricky to Diagnose.

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New research coming from France and Canada indicates that cervicogenic headache, headache coming from problems in the neck, is still not-so-easy to diagnose.

cervical spine
The cervical spine (image courtesy of Anatomography)

All of us would love to know if solving a neck problem would resolve our headaches. But this is tricky, because many types of headaches are related to neck pain. Migraine is often accompanied by neck pain, for example. That doesn’t mean that treating the neck will resolve the migraine symptoms.

But in the case of cervicogenic headache, there will be evidence that the headache is caused by problems in the neck.

The International Classification of Headache Disorders 3 describes it this way: Headache caused by a disorder of the cervical spine and its component bony, disc and/or soft tissue elements, usually but not invariably accompanied by neck pain.

Of course, your chances of diagnosing this type of headache if you have no neck pain are even slimmer.

A recent study published in August by Musculoskeletal Science and Practice (Cervicogenic headache, an easy diagnosis? A systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic studies) looked especially at a common method to diagnose cervicogenic headache, called the cervical flexion-rotation test. This test is done by a specialist who will test the rotation of the neck. (You can certainly notice problems on your own, but this test does need to be done by someone who is trained to notice small differences. More on the cervical flexion-rotation test.)

The researchers concluded that this test had “a small to moderate effect on the probability of a patient having” a cervicogenic headache, as opposed to another type of headache. In other words, it’s a good way to point at least a few patients in the right direction, but it’s not in any sense the final word.

There are other ways to diagnose, although this may be the key one. So in the end, your doctor will need to try a few things and draw on his or her experience, so that you can decide together whether further neck treatment will be of help.

A nerve block is another way to diagnose cervicogenic headache. If blocking nerve sensitivity in the neck stops headache symptoms, you’ve narrowed down the location of the problem.

Nerve blocks are also sometimes used as a treatment. But it’s important to realize that cervicogenic headache does not have one specific cause, although the general location of the cause will be the same. So treatments will vary quite a bit, depending on what the neck problem actually is, which can range from something simple to something quite serious.

Finding a specialist with experience in this type of headache will certainly help. If you suspect that your neck problems are causing or even triggering headache attacks, do mention it to your doctor.

Smells and Migraine: Getting Worse?

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Sensitivity to odours is osmophobia. Yes, this can refer to a fear of smells, but the hypersensitivity to smells related to migraine applies as well.

migraine stinks
I was going to include a picture of perfumes here, but just the picture made me feel like I was getting a headache. Try it for yourself! If you dare…

A study published in the Journal of Headache and Pain last month provides some interesting insights into common sensitivities and also a possible progression of the symptom.

The researchers, in this case, recognized that many “migraine symptoms” are not only present during an attack, but also before, after, or between attacks – or all the time. This is important to understand for people who still think that migraine only affects you when you have a “migraine headache”.

The biggest offenders probably won’t surprise you. The easy winner was “sweet perfumes”. But next to that, the odours of various foods, cigarette smoke, and exhaust fumes were common offenders. All of these sometimes covered all categories above in the sense of when they were a problem, some being bothersome all the time, and all for some people were considered triggers.

Also not surprising was that if a smell bothered you before an attack, it was likely to bother you during an attack. If it bothered you during an attack, chances were better that it would bother you all the time.

Perhaps most interesting in this study were the age differences. Patients who tended to be sensitive to certain smells between attacks tended to be about 10 years older, and/or they had had migraine for 8 years longer. This may indicate that migraine sensitivity does progress. Would the osmophobia be less if migraine had been treated properly in the early years? This study didn’t address the question, but it seems possible.

Some good news is that people with a high sensitivity to odours did not necessarily seem to be more disabled in general. In other words, although obviously this is a part of the migraine disability, it doesn’t seem like it is necessarily a sign that your migraine is getting more severe. A possible exception were those who became especially sensitive just before a migraine attack.

It may also be encouraging to know that the researchers found that patients were not nearly as likely to have an attack triggered by a certain odour as was believed from an earlier study. It could be that certain smells become more intense and annoying at certain times, such as right before an attack. But that does not necessarily mean that the perfume or whatever is actually triggering an attack.

For more on the study, check out Interictal osmophobia is associated with longer migraine disease duration.

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The articles on Headache and Migraine News are © 2004-2025 J. Cottrill.
Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of each article, and to point you to further sources of information. However, this site is for informational purposes only and should never replace a visit to your doctor.