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Cluster Headache Drug Verapamil May Cause Heart Problems

People who take verapamil for cluster headaches may be at greater risk of irregular heartbeats than those who don’t, according to a study published in the August issue of the journal Neurology. Researchers recommend that those who take the drug should have frequent EKGs to watch for possible heart problems.
The study of 108 people with [...]

FDA Delays Approval for Migraine Drug Trexima

Trexima, a combination of sumatriptan (Imitrex) and naproxen sodium (found in Aleve and other NSAIDs), was expected to receive FDA approval last week. Requesting more safety data, the FDA has delayed approval of Trexima.
The concern is about one of the four tests of genotoxicity, which is toxicity to DNA. The requested data are available from [...]

Pain Receptors in the Bone, Skull & Scalp Pain, and Botox

Headache specialist Christina Peterson’s comments on the news that a patient’s skin sensitivity may help predict Botox’s effectiveness for migraine explains the exciting research behind the story. Dr. Peterson attended the lecture on the topic at the International Headache Society’s annual conference. She wrote:
This was far and away the coolest lecture, although it was also [...]

Recognizing & Treating Children’s Migraines

Up to 10% of school-age children have migraine. Think a child or teenager that you love might be one of them? Listen to Children’s Migraines: How to Recognize and Treat Them, today’s HealthTalk webcast, to learn more.
The hour-long show starts at 7 p.m. EST tonight, Wednesday, July 18. About 10 minutes before the webcast, go [...]

Yawning Because Your Brain Needs Oxygen? Think Again

Cooling the brain and making you more attentive is the role of yawning, not increasing oxygen to the brain, according to recent research.
[P]eople do not yawn because they need oxygen, since experiments show that raising or lowering oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood fails to produce the reaction. Rather, yawning acts as a brain-cooling [...]

Yawning Because Your Brain Needs Oxygen? Think Again

Cooling the brain and making you more attentive is the role of yawning, not increasing oxygen to the brain, according to recent research.
[P]eople do not yawn because they need oxygen, since experiments show that raising or lowering oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood fails to produce the reaction. Rather, yawning acts as a brain-cooling [...]

Antidepressants and Pregnancy, Bone Loss, Personalized Drugs & Suicide (and Dutch Women & Depression)

Anyone with a headache disorder has a stake in depression news. Not only do headache and depression tend to go together, antidepressants are common headache preventives.
Antidepressants Rated Low Risk in Pregnancy
Taking an antidepressant like Prozac may increase a pregnant woman’s
risk of having a baby with a birth defect, but the chances appear remote and confined [...]

Migraine Treatment News

Here’s the roundup of migraine treatments. Other news posts I’m working on are about presentations at the International Headache Society’s conference (including cluster headache news), depression and chronic pain.
Migraine Patients Who Take Triptans Report Greater Satisfaction Than Patients Taking Barbituates or Opioids
Survey: Migraine Patients Taking Potentially Addictive Barbiturate or Opioid
Medications Not Approved By FDA as [...]

Migraine News: Migraines May Ease With Age, Parents’ Influence on Kids’ Migraines, More Poor Teens Have Migraine

I’ve neglected news lately and haven’t shared a lot of good stuff with you. I’m catching up over the holiday weekend.
Migraines May Ease With Age: In Swedish Study, Most Patients’ Attacks Decreased or Disappeared Over 12-Year Follow-Up
Good news for most migraine sufferers: With age, you can expect to
get fewer, less- painful migraine attacks that [...]

Does Harry Potter Have Migraine?

The excruciating pain in Harry Potter’s forehead when evil is present is one reason experts have diagnosed him with “probable migraine” in the latest issue of Headache, the journal of the American Headache Society.
“Come on” (said like an exasperated teenager) was my first reaction. But the argument is quite persuasive.
What makes the experts so convinced [...]