M. WILKINSON Patients with frequent or daily headaches pose a very difficult problem for the physician who has to treat them, particularly as many patients think that there should be a medicine or medicines which give them instant relief. In the search for the compound which would meet this very natural desire, many drugs have been manufactured and the temptation for the physician is either to increase the dose of a drug which seems to be, at any rate, partially effective, or to add one or more drugs to those which the patient is already taking. Although there have been some references to the dangers of overdosage of drugs for migraine in the past, it was not until relatively recently that it was recognized that drugs given for the relief of headache, if taken injudiciously, may themselves cause headache. The first drugs to be implicated in this way were ergotamine and phenazone. In the case of ergotamine tartrate, the dangers of ergotism were well known as this was a disorder which had been known and written about for many years. In the treatment of headache, fully blown ergotism is rare and in recent years has usually been due to self-medication in doses much greater than those prescribed although there are a few recorded cases where toxic amounts have been given.

Discussing real-world cases, this practical guide highlights areas of diagnostic uncertainty and shows common pitfalls in headache diagnosis and treatment.

There are two crucial issues in the treatment and management of headache patients: More than 50% of individuals experiencing headache have only been treated symptomatically, with no appropriate diagnosis established; and history and neurologic examination are essential to establishing a diagnosis, and thus selecting appropriate therapy. Headache and Migraine Biology and Management is a practical text that addresses these issues, featuring contributions from expert clinical authors. The book covers in detail topics including chronic and episodic migraine, post-traumatic headache, sinus headache, cluster headache, tension headache, and others. Chapters are also dedicated to treatment subjects, including psychiatric and psychological approaches, medication overuse, inpatient treatment, and pediatric issues. This book is an ideal resource for researchers and clinicians, uniting practical discussion of headache biology, current ideas on etiology, future research, and genetic significance and breakthroughs. This resource is useful to those who want to understand headache biology, treat and manage symptoms, and for those performing research in the headache field. - A practical discussion of headache biology, current ideas on etiology, future research, and genetic significance and breakthroughs - Features chapters from leading physicians and researchers in headache medicine - Full-color text that includes both an overview of multiple disciplines and discusses the measures that can be used to treat headaches

Emphasizing the relevance of recent findings to the differential diagnoses of a wide range of neurological conditions, this book offers an account of drug- induced neurological disorders. Specific chapters discuss epidemiology and clinical significance, pathomechanisms, encephalopathies, disorders of consciousness, neuropsychiatric disorders, headaches, seizures, movement disorders, cerebrovascular disorders, myopathies, diseases of the spine and spinal cord, cerebellar disorders, aseptic meningitis, benign intracranial hypertension, disorders of the automatic nervous system, sleep disorders, Eosinophilia Myalgia Syndrome, serotonin syndrome, Gillian-Barre syndrome, subacute myelo-optico-neuropathy, and pituitary disorders. Jain is a consultant in pharmaceutical medicine. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR.

Headache disorders are among the most common disorders of the nervous system. They are pandemic and, in many cases, they are recurrent and can accompany the patient for the whole life. These disorders impose a substantial burden on headache sufferers, on their families and on society: the individual impact is measured by the frequency and severity of attacks, while the societal burden is measured in terms of loss of activity at work and school as well as of costs for the health system. As a matter of facts, headaches are ranked in the top ten, and maybe the top five, causes of disability worldwide: they are therefore extraordinarily common. Population-based studies have mostly focused on migraine, which, even if it is the most frequently studied headache disorder, is not the most common . Other types of headache, such as the more prevalent TTH and sub-types of the more disabling chronic daily headache, have so far received less attention and need to be better investigated. This book will provide a useful tool to a wide medical population, who is required specific skills to diagnose and manage these frequent and often disabling disorders .Furthermore, it could also represents a compendium for medical students who are usually introduced to this topic through multidisciplinary university programmes.

Fifteen specialists serve as chapter authors, covering sex hormones and genetics, as well as the social, cultural, psychiatric, and psychological factors that contribute to headache disorders. Their approach is evidence-based, but where there are gaps in research, the authors provide advice based on expert consensus and clinical experience. Each chapter opens with a case report that synthesizes the chapter's treatment recommendations, as well as key points listing the chapter's contents. The main body of the chapter features an introductory overview, a closing summary, tables, and an extensive list of suggestive reading.

OROFACIAL PAIN AND HEADACHE is a timely, comprehensive and instructive addition to the pain literature; in particular the important and truly multidisciplinary area of orofacial pain. Based on their extensive clinical experience and a thorough understanding of pain mechanisms specific to the trigeminal system, the editors, Yair Sharav and Rafael Benoliel, have integrated knowledge from the areas of headache and orofacial pain and have succinctly explained common mechanisms involved in the two phenomena, with important implications for pain diagnosis and management. Internationally renowned editors and contributor teamIntegrated approach to the diagnosis and treatment of oral and facial pain syndromes as well as common primary headaches A thorough review of the four majorclinical entities of orofacial pain: acute dental, neurovascular, musculoskeletal and neuropathicComprehensive coverage of the pharmacotherapy of acute and chronic painChapters on the psychological, neurosurgical and otolaryngological aspects of orofacial painAn in depth discussion of facial pain and headaches secondary to medical co-morbiditiesExploration of complementary and alternative methods of pain control including acupuncture, food additives and hypnosis