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People with migraine disease face many challenges, and these challenges can be magnified when someone is part of an "underserved" population. We set out to examine various categories of "underserved" populations, consider the unique challenges faced by these groups, and discuss mechanisms to mitigate these challenges as much as possible.
Learn More >The highest prevalence of migraine is detected among people who are of working age. The aim of this study was to assess the burden of migraine in an occupational health care setting using real world data collected as a part of routine clinical practice.
Learn More >Migraine is a prevalent disease with a substantial socioeconomic impact. However, stigma affects social attitude toward migraine, accruing additional burden on individuals with migraine and isolating them from a society that should be supporting them. PURPOSE OF THIS REVIEW: This review will discuss the following concepts: (1) the emergence of stigma toward migraine and its impact on medical care; (2) internalized stigma among those with migraine and its detrimental effect on quality of life and patient-physician relationships; (3) the structural impact of stigma on research funding, workplace support, and specialized care; and (4) strategies for "rebranding" the disease and alleviating stigma toward migraine. RECENT FINDINGS: Recent literature on condition rebranding offers strategies on how to define and communicate migraine to the public. Rebranding of migraine to alleviate societal stigma is paramount. This involves use of unified language, education, and advocacy.
Learn More >Migraine is a debilitating neurological condition that involves the neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). An exciting development is the recent FDA approval of the first in an emerging class of CGRP-targeted drugs designed to prevent migraine. Yet despite this efficacy, there are some fundamental unanswered questions, such as and CGRP works in migraine. Preclinical data suggest that CGRP acts via both peripheral and central mechanisms. The relevance of peripheral sites is highlighted by the clinical efficacy of CGRP-blocking antibodies, even though they do not appreciably cross the blood-brain barrier. The most likely sites of action are within the dura and trigeminal ganglia. Furthermore, it would be foolish to ignore perivascular actions in the dura since CGRP is the most potent vasodilatory peptide. Ultimately, the consequence of blocking CGRP or its receptor is reduced peripheral neural sensitization. Underlying their efficacy is the question of the antibodies have such an excellent safety profile so far. This may be due to the presence of a second CGRP receptor and vesicular release of a large bolus of peptides. Finally, despite the promise of these drugs, there are unmet gaps because they do not work for all patients; so ? We can expect advances on several fronts, including CGRP receptor structures that may help development of centrally-acting antagonists, combinatorial treatments that integrate other therapies, and development of drugs that target other neuropeptides. This is truly an exciting time for CGRP and the migraine field with many more discoveries on the horizon.
Learn More >This study was conducted to investigate sex differences in the prevalence and clinical presentation of migraine and probable migraine in a general population-based sample.
Learn More >OnabotulinumtoxinA is effective in preventing chronic migraine (CM); however, the benefit of onabotulinumtoxinA in patients with CM with daily headache is unknown because these patients are typically excluded from clinical trials. This subanalysis of the COMPEL Study assessed the efficacy and safety of onabotulinumtoxinA in people with CM with and without daily headache.
Learn More >Optimism and pessimism are related to several mental health and brain disorders, are significant predictors of physical and psychological health outcomes, and implicated as psychosocial determinants of the pain experience. Despite this promising evidence, limited information is available on optimism and pessimism in headache disorders.
Learn More >To assess the effectiveness and adverse effects of acute cluster headache medications in a large international sample, including recommended treatments such as oxygen, commonly used medications such as opioids, and emerging medications such as intranasal ketamine. Particular focus is paid to a large subset of respondents 65 years of age or older.
Learn More >Animal models have provided a growing body of information about the pathophysiology of headaches and novel therapeutic targets. In recent years, experiments in awake animals have gained attention as more relevant headache models. Pain can be assessed in animals using behavioral alterations, which includes sensory-discriminative, affective-emotional and cognitive aspects. Spontaneous behavioral alterations such as increased grooming, freezing, eye blinking, wet dog shake and head shake and decreased locomotion, rearing, food or water consumption observed during pain episodes are oftentimes easy to translate into clinical outcomes, but are giving little information about the localization and modality of the pain. Evoked pain response such as tactile and thermal hypersensitivity measures are less translatable but gives more insight into mechanisms of action. Mechanical allodynia is usually assessed with von Frey monofilaments and dynamic aesthesiometer, and thermal allodynia can be evaluated with acetone evaporation test and Hargreaves' test in animal models. Anxiety and depression are the most frequent comorbid diseases in headache disorders. Anxiety-like behaviors are evaluated with the open-field, elevated plus-maze or light/dark box tests. Interpretation of the latter test is challenging in migraine models, as presence of photophobia or photosensitivity can also be measured in light/dark boxes. Depressive behavior is assessed with the forced-swim or tail suspension tests. The majority of headache patients complain of cognitive symptoms and migraine is associated with poor cognitive performance in clinic-based studies. Cluster headache and tension type headache patients also exhibit a reversible cognitive dysfunction during the headache attacks. However, only a limited number of animal studies have investigated cognitive aspects of headache disorders, which remains a relatively unexplored aspect of these pathologies. Thus, the headache field has an excellent and growing selection of model systems that are likely to yield exciting advances in the future.
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