American Headache Society

12 July 2012

New in the USA: American Headache and Migraine Association

Many migraineurs in the USA have expressed the desire to have a patient operated organization focusing on headache and migraine. Well – good news! The dream is becoming a reality!

American Headache & Migraine Association

The American Headache and Migraine Association (AHMA) has been created with the help of the American Headache Society (AHS) as a result of a vote on June 21st. The new organization will have a 10 member board, with 5 patients and 5 AHS members. Long time migraineur advocate and health writer Teri Robert will chair the board, and Dr. Paul Winner, chair of the ACHE (the American Headache Society Committee on Headache Education), will co-chair. It will be a part of ACHE.

This organization is all about patients connecting. More information will be coming soon, but in the meantime we know that a website is going to be up soon, and that you’ll be able to join at a very modest fee ($15 per year), and that the first conference is already planned!

That’s right – write it in red on your calendar (or perhaps a more migraineur-friendly color) – November the 17th 2013 in Scottsdale, Arizona! This is actually at the end of the AHS Scottsdale Symposium, which means some of the country’s top specialists will be available to interact with – you!

Stay tuned for more information! Meanwhile, learn more about the not-so-secret origins of AHMA in this article from Teri Robert.

12 December 2011

The Gathering Storm: Predicting Migraine Attacks

James Information, Tips 1

This past summer at the annual conference of the American Headache Society, researchers and specialists discussed a something that we’ve known about for a long time – but still don’t take full advantage of. That is, the premonitory phase of a migraine attack (formerly called prodrome).

Some people call it the first part of a migraine attack – others talk about it as a "warning phase". But whatever you call it, it’s a time when there are symptoms before the full-blown symptoms at the height of an attack.

Researchers are especially interested in the premonitory phase because of the possibility of treating migraine before it gets out-of-hand.

What are some of these early-warning symptoms? Dr. R. Allan Purdy suggests that mood changes are common – sadness or euphoria, for example. Also, yawning, increased sensitivity to light and sound, trouble with concentration, paleness, and fatigue. Sometime patients just "know" that a migraine attack is coming.

Dr. Purdy says,"Migraine is for many people a lightning storm that starts hours or day similar to gathering clouds before the storm, followed by the thunderous pain of the migraine headache. The premonitory phase is well-documented but only recently have scientists considered if migraine can be treated before a patient is in full attack mode."

Some believe that, for example, taking triptans early in an attack can greatly increase your chances of successfully treating the symptoms.

What does Dr. Purdy advise? "Until we fully understand the neurobiology of this phenomenon, our advice to patients is to stay alert to the presence of these symptoms and slow down to allow the body to adjust to what maybe coming if a migraine occurs."

Be aware, slow down, and try treating the migraine early. Have you found that doing these things makes a difference in your symptoms?

via: Many migraine sufferers can predict their migraine attack — may create new treatment possibilities

More about premonitory symptoms and treating migraine

6 September 2011

Feverfew and Ginger Combo for Migraine

James Discoveries & Stats, Treatments 1

There is growing interest in a feverfew/ginger combination in the treatment of migraine. A study last month from the American Headache Society further confirmed that feverfew and ginger may help some patients when an attack hits.

The supplement used was LipiGesic-M, a sub-lingual supplement to be taken when a migraine attack begins. It contains feverfew (pyrethrum parthenium) and ginger.

Feverfew is a well researched migraine fighter. It’s often given as a preventative, and has been very helpful to many migraineurs. It acts as an anti-inflammatory, and may have other mechanisms we’re just starting to understand. Read more about feverfew here.

Ginger is also well known in the fight against migraine, particularly helping to fight nausea.

The suggestion has been that this combo is best for those who have a mild headache phase early in the migraine attack. Patients in this study, then, took the LipiGesic-M early on. 32% were pain free at the 2 hour point, and a total of 63% were either pain free or only had a mild headache two hours after taking the supplement.

This may turn out to be a good option for many people who can catch an attack early. There were very few side effects, the most commonly reported being nausea or numbness in the tongue. (If you think it’s odd that this would cause nausea for some and fight it for others, think of all the headache medications that list "headache" as a possible side effect!)

As with anything, check with a doctor who knows your medical history before you try something new. Find out more on the LipiGesic-M site.

For a summary of the study, see A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study of Sublingual Feverfew and Ginger (LipiGesic(TM) M) in the Treatment of Migraine.

19 April 2011

Thank You, and Goodbye Dr. Sheftell

James News 0

It’s with sadness I write this post about the passing of migraine specialist and activist Dr. Fred Sheftell. Dr. Sheftell left this life on the 11th of April 2011 after a four year battle with cancer.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1941, Dr. Sheftell had quite a varied career. He was in the US army, developing a drug abuse program for soldiers returning from Vietnam (he was decorated by the army for his contribution, and was a pioneer in this field in the Unites States). Along with Dr. Alan Rapoport, he started the New England Center for Headache, and was founder and director of the American Committee of Headache Education. He was a past president of the American Headache Society, and was on the board of directors for many years. He was a member of the advisory board for the Migraine Research Foundation during the last years of his life. He founded the Word Headache Alliance. He was even cited in Woodward and White’s, "Best Doctors in America", a textbook identifying outstanding physicians in the United States.

Even that incredibly impressive list of achievements doesn’t begin to explain Dr. Sheftell’s tireless efforts to fight migraine. He co-authored many books, including Headache Relief for Women: How You Can Manage and Prevent Pain and Conquering Headache: An Illustrated Guide to Understanding the Treatment and Control of Headache. He wrote more than 200 peer reviewed articles. He frequently made himself available to appear on news programs to raise awareness about headache, migraine, and treatments.

It’s hard to imagine where migraine awareness and treatment and research would be without Dr. Sheftell.

Dr. Fred Sheftell was survived by his wife, Karen; son Jason; daughter Lauren; mother Wilma; brother Steven and his family; and brothers-in-law Edward Rosenthal and wife Linda, and David Rosenthal and wife Jane.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Sheftell’s memory can be made to the American Migraine Foundation, c/o American Migraine Foundation, 19 Mantua Road, Mount Royal, NJ 08061.

Dr. Sheftell was also a musician. Yes, he even used this talent to fight migraine, as evidenced in one of his most popular songs… Migraine Blues:

For the full CD or MP3 downloads, see Migraine Blues here.

17 July 2010

Grape Seed Extract – Next for Migraine?

James Discoveries & Stats, Treatments 5

Could grape seed extract be the next big supplement used to combat migraine? Researchers at the Missouri State University think it may be.

Grape seed extract has been researched heavily in the last few months. It shows a lot of promise in areas such as fighting hyperglycemia and its antioxidant properties.

This was another trial on rats. Some were fed regular water, others water with grape seed extract. Otherwise, their diet was normal.

The results showed that the grape seed extract helped to fight inflammation, and suppressed reaction which seem to stimulate “central sensitization” – a key part of the migraine chain-reaction.

The researchers felt that the evidence was strong for the trial of grape seed extract (GSE) in migraine patients. They write:

Based on our findings, we predict that inclusion of GSE as a dietary supplement would be beneficial as a natural therapeutic option for chronic migraine as well as other chronic pain conditions involving the head and face.

The report was given at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Headache Society last month.