News you can use ....
Migraine headaches are featured in the 12/13th New York Times -- an opinion piece by Michele Williams allows the reader to "live" her experiences with migraines, their diagnosis and misdiagnosis, treatment approaches, and the effects on daily life. This issue also examines migraines in professional football players. Despite the ever-present focus on concussions and their effects in players, something as seemingly mundane as recurrent headaches often plays havoc with their ability to function during a game. It's hard to imagine experiencing a full-blown migraine with nausea, photophobia and pain while tackling or being tackled and hearing the roar of 70,000+ fans. The FDA recently released their advice related to the potential risks inherent in epidural glucocorticoid injections. This off-label practice has come to the fore after patients developed serious and sometimes fatal neurologic events post-injection. After a lengthy review, no changes in the current FDA warnings will be made but the panel recommends careful patient selection and honest evaluations of risk v. benefit. They point out that the evidence supporting efficacy of this treatment is inconclusive.
