Archive for the ‘In the News’ Category

Rare type of migraine

When your migraine is at its worst, spare a thought for “the girl with kaleidoscope eyes” and you won’t feel so bad.

Danielle Burton, aged 19, can only see the world as if she is viewing it through a kaleidoscope. (Picture on the website below).

She had perfect vision until a week after her 19th birthday when she lost her normal vision and now only sees a fuzzy “snow” of colour – permanently. Over the last 6 months she has only had ONE hour of normal vision.

A hospital scan found no problem with her eyes, but finally, in January, a doctor suggested that she was suffering from a rare condition known as Persistent Migraine Aura or (PMA). There are only 20 other people known to suffer from this condition in which a nerve in the brain is stuck in a constant “migraine” state.

The cruellest blow of all was when she lost her sight again after that one hour of normal vision when she was able to truly appreciate everything she had been missing, only to have it snatched away again.

Danielle is taking special medication in the hope of finding relief and I’m sure migraine sufferers everywhere will send their prayers and good wishes for her relief.

If anyone hears any further updates, please post as a comment below.

Source acknowledged with thanks: Daily Mail, March 29th 2010

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The Migraine Brain, Dr Carolyn Bernstein

In March 2010 I was contacted via this blog and asked to review a new book, The Migraine Brain, by Dr Carolyn Bernstein and Elaine McArdle.

The accompanying pre-publication material explains how this book helps prevent and treat your migraine:

  • Collates the latest research on why you get a migraine
  • Explains how the brain chemistry of migraine sufferers differs, and why migraines occur
  • Interactive approach with quizzes, graphics and fun facts
  • Encourages you to take charge of your own illness and helps you develop a customized wellness plan
  • Separate chapter for men and migraine
  • Chapter on the role of female hormones in triggering migraine attacks, including migraines in pregnancy and migraine after the menopause
  • Discusses new migraine drugs together with alternative therapies

Having completed my review of The Migraine Brain, I am pleased to give this book my recommendation. You learn more about it from the Amazon link below.


Who is Dr Carolyn Bernstein?

Dr Carolyn Bernstein is an assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, and has founded her own clinic.  Co-author Elain McArdle is an award-winning journalist.  Both are migraine sufferers.

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Migraine Relief at the Push of a Button

A study published in The Lancet has found that a hand-held gadget, about the size and weight of a hair-drier could bring migraine relief to sufferers at the push of a button.

Developed by Californian firm Neuralieve, the gadget delivers a magnetic stimulus to the back of the head and interrupts the pain and other symptoms associated with migraine, by calming the over-excited brain cells causing the attack.

Researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New Yorks tested the safety and efficacy of the device on 200 male and female migraine sufferers. Half used the actual device, and the other half (placebo group) used dummy equipment. Everyone was instructed to use the device as soon as symptoms started and take note of how long it was before they experienced relief.

40% of the sufferers with the real device were pain-free within two hours compared to 22% of those in the placebo group. There were no serious side effects, and participants found the device easy to use.

Before the device is available to the general public more research is required to confirm the safety and effectiveness of the treatment.

The expected cost will be about £1,000.

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Migraine and magnets

Magnotherapy for migraines is a topic covered in my ebook, so it’s good to find reports of a study testing a pain-free, hand-held device that sends a magnetic pulse into the head.

The noninvasive device delivers a therapy known as transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS.

It appears, from the results, described here, that this may bring relief to some migraine sufferers.

Dr. Yousef Mohammad, of The Ohio State University in Columbus, reported the findings at the annual meeting of the American Headache Society in Boston. In the study, researchers recruited 201 patients suffering from migraine with aura, then randomly assigned them to use either the device being tested or a “sham” device that was being used for comparison. Patients were instructed to apply the device over the site of the migraine, when symptoms were first noticed. It was found that two hours after treatment, 39 percent of the TMS patients were pain-free, versus 22 percent of patients using the sham device. Read more at the full article.

The 39 percent result is somewhat better than the usually expected placebo effect, and is also better than the 22 percent of patients who used the sham device.

If you’d like to try a magnetic bracelet (such as the one I use) please visit my magnotherapy website.

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Women and migraines

Although almost 30 million people suffer from migraine, did you know that according to an article in HTRNews, woman are more likely to suffer migraines than men?

In fact you probably DID know that, or at least instinctively feel it.

Well, in the article on the website above you can read how the hormones play havoc with us ladies.

You can also discover some ways to cope.

Don’t forgot, those of you who haven’t already bought it, my ebook “A Complementary Approach to Migraine” will cover a wealth of drug-free ways to prevent your next migraine.

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