More Migraine and Headache Hope: 2014 American Headache Society Symposium

Energizing and encouraging are the words I’d use to describe the American Headache Society’s symposium last week/weekend. The opening remarks on Thursday morning actually made me cry. After the AHS president, Dr. Lawrence Newman, shared his heartfelt frustrations with migraine treatment and gave an impassioned plea for the 36 Million Migraine campaign, the room went dark. Dr. Newman then asked everyone to stand up with their cell phones lit to “shine a light on migraine.” This picture from the AHS Twitter feed shows a small portion of the room in this powerful moment.

The strength of the moment was reinforced when the first presenter of the day, Dr. Dawn Buse, asked everyone in the audience with migraine to stand. Three-quarters of the room stood. She then asked everyone who had a loved one with migraine to stand. I don’t believe anyone in the room remained seated.

“These people care,” I thought so many times throughout the conference. I saw so many doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses and psychologists who are passionate and enthusiastic about headache medicine. They are frustrated about lack of funding and the stigma of headache and migraine, but they care deeply about and are dedicated to their patients. They are excited – ahem, cautiously optimistic – about the CGRP drugs that are in development for migraine as well as the neuromodulation treatments that are on the horizon (like transcranial magnetic stimulation and vagal nerve stimulation, both of which are noninvasive and should be available to patients soon).

This is the third year I’ve attended this particular conference and the fourth headache conference I’ve been to. The energy felt different. Maybe it was because I felt better and was able to engage more, but the enthusiasm and optimism seemed stronger than I’ve noticed before. Even more encouraging was the number of people new to headache medicine, mostly fellows in their early days of specialization, who attended the conference.

Yes, research for migraine and all headache disorders is underfunded. Yes, the arsenal of treatments is still nebulous and it’s hard to pin down what might help any individual patient. Yes, the stigma is still enormous. Yes, there is still a small portion of patients for whom it is difficult to find the right treatment. But the field is making progress and it’s being led by enthused and engaged providers who truly care for patients. The number of academic headache centers is on the rise, as is the number of fellows being trained in headache medicine each year.

I was already full of hope about the future of migraine treatment. This conference reinforced that my migraine and headache hope is well-placed. The tide is turning. It’s one of the many things I’m giving thanks for this week.

Want even more hope? Watch this interview with headache specialist and researcher Peter Goadsby. It’s well worth your eight minutes. (Many thanks to  Timothy for sending me this.)