Headache and Neurosonology Center

Unit

The Headache and Neurosonology Unit, part of the Neurology Unit, manages the UCBM Hospital Headache Center  that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of primary headaches – such as migraine, tension headache and cluster headache – and secondary headaches.

Headache is a widespread problem. From a study conducted in 2008, it emerged that in Italy 76% of women and 61% of men suffered from headache at least once in their life while 2% of the population suffers from chronic headache, ie they suffer from headache for 15 days a month or more.  Generally the age group most affected is that between the ages of 20 and 50, a fact that makes headaches, and migraines in particular, a significant social problem with negative economic implications due to absence from work and reduced productivity.

The Center offers clinical diagnosis and instrumental diagnostics, in accordance with international guidelines. In addition to traditional diagnostics, tests are carried out to study cerebral circulation using ultrasound, both under basal conditions and with stimulus tests (test for patent oval foramen, cerebral vasomotor reactivity, autoregulation test).

Wash-out treatments for people suffering from headache due to excessive use of drugs to alleviate headaches are performed in Day Hospital regimen. At the Headache Center, treatment with botulinum toxin is also available to reduce attacks and consequent disability in patients suffering from chronic migraine resistant to traditional prophylactic pharmacological treatments.

Recognized by ANIRCEF, the Italian Neurological Association for Headache Research, the Headache Center is participating in the study and clinical use of monoclonal antibodies, a new targeted therapy that blocks the CGRP receptor (calcitonin gene related peptide) or its receptor and has shown efficacy and safety in the prophylaxis of migraine.