Research published ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry reports that chronic migraine sufferers tend to be in poorer general health, less wealthy, and more depressed than those with episodic migraine. Episodic migraine is a severe headache happening up to 14 days of the month. Chronic migraine is headache happening 15 or more days of the month. The findings are based on data of approximately 12,000 adults with episodic and chronic migraines. All participants were already part of the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention (AMPP) study…

Trigemina, Inc. (TI), a Mountain View based startup, has begun a Phase IIa clinical trial for its lead molecule in Chronic Daily Headache (CDH) in collaboration with Dr. Egilius Spierings at MedVadis Research Corporation located outside of Boston. The study compares intranasal oxytocin with placebo in patients suffering from at least 15 days of headache pain per month. CDH represents approximately 3% of the US population for which there currently is no effective treatment…

UroToday.com - Childhood maltreatment is prevalent and has been associated with a wide range of adult psychiatric and physical disorders. Many studies have focused on the relationship of abuse with depression and anxiety, 2 conditions strongly associated with chronic pain syndromes.

Addex Pharmaceuticals (SWISS: ADXN) announced that it has decided to end prematurely the migraine prevention study 206. Routine safety monitoring of blinded data in study 206 has revealed an incidence of abnormalities of liver function tests that is higher than expected in this population. The abnormalities are apparent from day 28 of dosing but the incidence and severity appear to increase progressively with increasing duration of participation in the study…

Patients with a cluster headache, which is characterized by bouts of excruciating pain usually near the eye or temple, were more likely to report being pain-free within 15 minutes of treatment with high-flow oxygen than patients who received a placebo treatment, according to a study in the December 9 issue of JAMA. Cluster headache attacks typically last for 15 minutes to 3 hours untreated and have a frequency of 1 every other day for up to 8 attacks a day…

Cluster headaches (also used in singular: headache), also nicknamed suicide headaches, occur several times a day, they come on unexpectedly, do not last long, and are generally very painful. The pain is usually intense, and sometimes only on one side of the head. Frequently, the sufferer also feels pain around the eye.

The disability from migraine headaches is an enormous health burden affecting over 30 million Americans. In newly released research, 79 migraine sufferers were followed for at least five years after having undergone detection of migraine “trigger sites” and surgery.

Migraine sufferers, beware. You may be more prone to an alcohol-induced headache after a night of drinking, according to researchers from the Jefferson Headache Center. The research will be presented at Neuroscience 2009, the Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, in Chicago.

NovaDel Pharma Inc. (NYSE AMEX: NVD) announced that an article titled “Rapid Oral Transmucosal Absorption of Sumatriptan, and Pharmacodynamics in Acute Migraine” was published online on June 22, 2009 in the peer-reviewed journal Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain. NovaDel conducted two clinical trials evaluating sumatriptan administered via its oral spray drug delivery technology.

As children and teens begin school again, they are more susceptible to the pain and discomfort of headaches and migraines. The change in schedule, new teachers, new friends and schoolwork can increase stress and consequently, increase headaches.