Medication Overuse Headache from Different Points of View

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Neuroscience of Pain".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 424

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Medicine, Department for Neurology, University of Niš, Nis, Serbia
Interests: neurology; pain medicine; headaches

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I invite you to submit your work for consideration in an upcoming Brain Sciences Special Issue on “Medication Overuse Headache from Different Points of View”. Original basic and clinical research, case reports, review articles, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews related to this entity are welcomed. It is our hope to enhance the continually evolving understanding of headache disorders by providing fresh insights into the aetiology and management of a broad range of syndromes, as illustrated by your contributions. Of greatest interest are novel biological discoveries and innovative applications of existing and newer drugs and devices. Thank you in advance for your efforts in unravelling the mysteries of what brings about headaches and their resolution.

MOH is a secondary headache disorder, although pathophysiologically and clinically, it represents a complication or transformation of most commonly occurring primary headaches. It is a complex entity with biological, psychological, and social aspects. Assessing the risk factors of MOH occurrence and treatment success is crucial for the primary and secondary prevention of this type of headache. A diagnosis of MOH is clinical, and its treatment is individualized, is highly dependent on an multidisciplinary team approach (neurologist, pain medicine specialist, behavioural psychologist, etc.), and should probably be attempted in primary care (leaving the more complicated cases to neurologists specialised in this type of complexity). For those who suffer from MOH and have poor information about MOH management, the choice of detoxication and prevention program should be made based on their clinical condition and evidence of intervention effectiveness. Discontinuation of excessive medication should be carried out abruptly for those who excessively use common analgesics, ergot preparations, and triptans. Gradual discontinuation, however, is advised for the excessive use of opioids, barbiturates, and sedatives. Also, this can be carried out in an outpatient basis, during a day-trip to the hospital, or in a hospital setting (the effectiveness is similar for all abovementioned conditions). However, determining the type of MOH is crucial in selecting the location and method for conducting a discontinuation of excessive medication use.

Medication overuse discontinuation, transitional therapy, preventive therapy, preventive relapse monitoring, and patient education and awareness are the foundations of a therapeutic approach.

In spite of all the abovementioned, MOH is a treatable and preventable public problem worldwide. The gain from treating patients with MOH is potentially high and may lead to substantial economic savings for society as well for individual patients.

Dr. Srdjan Ljubisavljević
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • medication overuse headache
  • MOH
  • headache
  • rebound headache
  • painkiller headache
  • migraine
  • tension-type headache

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

16 pages, 259 KiB  
Review
The Nursing Role in the Management of Medication Overuse Headache: Realities and Prospects
by Luigi Alberto Pini, Katiuscia Cottafavi and Paola Ferri
Brain Sci. 2024, 14(6), 600; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14060600 - 14 Jun 2024
Viewed by 156
Abstract
This review aims to analyze the current literature to identify articles related to the role of nurses and, in general, the nursing management of patients suffering from medication overuse headache (MOH), a globally spread disease. We specifically argue for non-pharmacological approaches to pain [...] Read more.
This review aims to analyze the current literature to identify articles related to the role of nurses and, in general, the nursing management of patients suffering from medication overuse headache (MOH), a globally spread disease. We specifically argue for non-pharmacological approaches to pain management, such as multidisciplinary team approaches, holistic treatment, cognitive behavioral therapy and exercise. For this review, we investigated international scientific databases, including PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus and Embase, in the period between 2000 and 2024. We observed a wealth of scientific articles related to MOH, but a poverty of articles relating to the nursing management of headache. The research included the presence of academic-level training for nurses, whereas there are few institutions that train competent professionals in both pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of MOH patients. Nursing assessment and assistance strategies are indicated to plan tailored treatment paths related to the specific needs of these patients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Medication Overuse Headache from Different Points of View)
Back to TopTop