Migraine news this week: November 26

Catch up on this week's migraine headlines.

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november 26 headThe Diagnosis and Treatment of Medication Overuse Headache

Medication Overuse Headache is a common problem for migraine sufferers. It occurs when a person takes abortive medications for migraines too often, which eventually leads to even more headaches. MOH is preventable with proper medication management but needs to be stopped once it sets in. This article in Neurology Advisor lists treatment options for different types of MOH.

Do Migraine Patients Reach Sustained Pain Relief?

Researchers looked back on data from a 2006 study to try to gain new information about how migraine sufferers respond to their treatments. They found that half of study participants didn't get the full relief they should from their medications. Factors that made sufferers less likely to respond to medications included being unmarried, having a higher body mass index, and not using preventive medication. This proves how badly we need more research to find better treatments for all sufferers.

Hemiplegic Migraine Tied to Depression

All migraine sufferers are at a greater risk for depression than non-sufferers. This new study found that people with hemiplegic migraine in particular--a rare migraine variant--are four times more likely to get depression in their lives. The researchers write that all hemiplegic migraine sufferers should be screened for depression before they're prescribed preventive medications, since certain medicines can impact depression.

Can anything - LSD perhaps? - help 'suicide headaches?'

Cluster headaches are different from migraines, but sufferers of each often struggle to find effective treatments. This article discusses the few controversial cluster headache sufferers who've taken treatment into their own hands by trying LSD and magic mushrooms. Experts say they can't endorse this, and hope research brings better treatments soon.

The Migraine Guy

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