Myra Partridge

Migraine and chronic daily headache may be risk factors for the development of complex regional pain syndrome, according to the results of a study led by B. Lee Peterlin, DO, assistant professor of neurology, Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.

Results of a large survey show that many patients with cluster headaches (CH) are not receiving treatment with acute and preventive therapies.

The risk of ischemic stroke may be twice as high in patients who experience migraine with aura as in those who have migraine without aura, according to results of a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Did Pablo Picasso suffer from migraine? And did these episodes influence his artwork? Not likely, said Joost Haan, MD, PhD, a member of the department of neurology at Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands. He discussed migraine and the works of master painters at the 14th annual International Headache Congress in Philadelphia.

Results of a landmark study showed that onabotulinumtoxinA effectively reduced headache symptoms, episodes, disability, and health-related quality of life in patients with chronic migraine.

Patients with migraine are more likely than nonmigraineurs to experience cardiovascular events, according to recent results of the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention Study.

Patients with migraine accompanied by depression or anxiety disorders had greater improvements in headache-related disability than those without a psychiatric disorder, according to results of the Treatment of Severe Migraine trial.

About 20% of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who have a history of concussion or blast exposure experience chronic daily headache, according to a results of study presented at the 14th annual International Headache Congress in Philadelphia.

The portrayal of headache in film may contribute to patients’ misconceptions and fears about their illness, according to Bert B. Vargas, MD, clinical professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix.

Tonabersat is effective in the prophylaxis of aura in patients with migraine, according to a recent study led by Jes Olesen, MD, a professor of neurology at the Danish Headache Center at Glostrup Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Glostrup, Denmark.

Patients with migraine are more likely than nonmigraineurs to have temporomandibular disorder (TMD). According to the results of a new study presented at the 14th annual International Headache Conference in Philadelphia, TMD may also be associated with increased headache frequency.

It is only within the past 40 years that the term "migraine art" was introduced; yet artists may have been creating works inspired by migraine aura since the Stone Age. Early depictions of migraine continue to influence newer artists with this illness. This is a natural progression that is common in all types of art, according to Klaus Podoll, MD, senior physician in the department of psychiatry and psychotherapy, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen University, Germany. But Dr Podoll has found that artists with migraine are often particularly attracted to the works of other artists who share their migraine experiences. These shared experiences "act like a filter," contributing to the an artist's perspective and leading to "elective affinities between migraine-inspired artists," he said.

The addition of methylprednisolone to interferon ß (IFN-ß) therapy may reduce disease activity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) to a greater degree than treatment with IFN-ß alone. “These results indicate that these 2 drugs may have a synergy when taken together and provide a more beneficial effect on the disease activity,” said study author Mads Ravnborg, MD, of the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Research Center at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark.

Valproate should be avoided in women with epilepsy who are pregnant, according to new guidelines developed by the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society.

Prevalence of migraine is higher in men and women who have total body obesity (TBO) or abdominal obesity (Abd-O), according to the results of a study by Lee B. Peterlin, DO, assistant professor in the Department of Neurology, and colleagues at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.