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Advances and Challenges in Headache and Migraine Management: A Global...
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Advances and Challenges in Headache and Migraine Management: A Global Perspective

A special issue of Medical Sciences (ISSN 2076-3271).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 4179

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Faraidoon Haghdoost

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Interests: migraine; headache disorders

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Headache disorders, including migraines and tension-type headaches, are among the most prevalent and disabling neurological conditions worldwide. This Special Issue invites submissions on all aspects of headache and migraine management—ranging from acute and preventive treatments to emerging therapies, clinical pathways, health services research, and real-world implementation. 

We encourage contributions that explore diverse approaches to managing headache disorders in both clinical and community settings, as well as papers that highlight innovative strategies, patient-centered care models, and multidisciplinary approaches. While all high-quality submissions related to headache management are welcome, we especially encourage studies addressing the global landscape of care—examining differences in access, treatment, and outcomes between high-income and low- and middle-income countries. 

Submissions that include data from advocacy groups, patient-reported outcomes, or explore unmet needs—particularly in under-resourced or underserved settings—are also encouraged. This issue aims to provide a platform for advancing the science and practice of headache care across contexts, with the goal of improving outcomes for individuals living with headache disorders worldwide. 

By bringing together a broad range of research and perspectives, we hope to foster collaboration, highlight gaps, and inform future directions in the management of headaches and migraines.

Dr. Faraidoon Haghdoost
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Medical Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1600 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

  • headache
  • migraine
  • management
  • prevention
  • unmet need

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 308 KB  
Article
Headache Onset Timing as a Predictor for Comorbid Conditions of Pediatric Primary Headache
by Hideki Shimomura, Sachi Tokunaga, Eisuke Terasaki, Naoko Taniguchi, Yohei Taniguchi, Saeka Yoshitake, Masumi Okuda and Yasuhiro Takeshima
Med. Sci. 2026, 14(1), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/medsci14010034 - 8 Jan 2026
Viewed by 543
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Pediatric patients with primary headaches frequently exhibit diverse comorbid conditions, often rendering their headaches intractable. Early identification of and intervention for comorbid conditions are crucial for improving prognosis, yet remain challenging. We hypothesized that headache onset timing can predict the presence [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Pediatric patients with primary headaches frequently exhibit diverse comorbid conditions, often rendering their headaches intractable. Early identification of and intervention for comorbid conditions are crucial for improving prognosis, yet remain challenging. We hypothesized that headache onset timing can predict the presence of these comorbid conditions. Methods: Headache onset timing of 106 pediatric patients (aged 6–17 [median: 13] years) with migraine or tension-type headache and associated comorbidities, including neurodevelopmental and sleep disorders, orthostatic intolerance (OI), and psychosocial factors, was retrospectively analyzed. Results: Headache onset timing was most frequent upon awakening (33.0%), followed by indeterminate (31.1%) and orthostatic (20.8%) onsets. OI (40.6%) and psychosocial factors (38.7%) were the most prevalent comorbid conditions. Psychosocial factors were most common in the awakening (62.9%) and indeterminate (27.3%) onset groups; OI predominated in the orthostatic group (77.3%). Multivariate analysis revealed that psychosocial factors were a significant risk factor for awakening headache (odds ratio [OR]: 4.59, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.80–11.71). OI was a risk factor for orthostatic onset headache (OR: 7.18, 95% CI: 1.92–26.87) and inversely associated with indeterminate headache (OR: 0.15, 95% CI: 0.04–0.54). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that detailed classification of headache onset timing can predict potential risks of specific comorbid conditions in pediatric patients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Headache and Migraine Management: A Global Perspective)
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13 pages, 2990 KB  
Article
Characterizing Differences in Endolymphatic Hydrops Signatures Among Meniere’s Disease Patients with and Without Migraine
by Yoshiyuki Sasano, Fumihiro Mochizuki, Yusuke Ito, Erin Williams, Izumi Koizuka, Michael E. Hoffer and Manabu Komori
Med. Sci. 2026, 14(1), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/medsci14010029 - 7 Jan 2026
Viewed by 892
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Migraine is frequently comorbid with Meniere’s disease, which may complicate interpretation of inner ear imaging and clinical diagnosis. While endolymphatic hydrops has been studied in Meniere’s disease and vestibular migraine separately, comparative imaging data for Meniere’s disease patients with and without [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Migraine is frequently comorbid with Meniere’s disease, which may complicate interpretation of inner ear imaging and clinical diagnosis. While endolymphatic hydrops has been studied in Meniere’s disease and vestibular migraine separately, comparative imaging data for Meniere’s disease patients with and without migraine remain limited. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 78 patients with definite Meniere’s disease who underwent endolymphatic contrast-enhanced MRI (HYbriD of Reversed image of Positive endolymph signal and native image of positive perilymph signal; or “HYDROPS”). Patients were classified as Meniere’s disease only group (n = 56), or Meniere’s disease with migraine (n = 22). The degree of endolymphatic hydrops (negative, mild, or significant) was assessed separately in the inner ear, the cochlea, and the vestibule. Results: In Meniere’s disease group, the affected ear consistently showed higher rates of significant endolymphatic hydrops compared to the healthy ear across the inner ear, cochlea, and vestibule (p < 0.01). In contrast, Meniere’s disease with migraine group showed no significant interaural differences. Meniere’s disease with migraine group showed a significantly higher frequency of significant endolymphatic hydrops in the healthy cochlea (p < 0.01). Similar patterns were observed in the inner ear (p < 0.025) and vestibule (p = 0.05), although these differences did not reach statistical significance. Bilateral hydrops was significantly more frequent in Meniere’s disease with migraine group than in Meniere’s disease group among all regions investigated (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Meniere’s disease patients with migraine exhibit a distinct endolymphatic hydrops pattern, characterized by bilateral or symmetrical hydrops and involvement of the healthy ear. These findings suggest migraine-related mechanisms may contribute to endolymphatic hydrops, and bilateral endolymphatic hydrops on endolymphatic contrast-enhanced MRI in suspected Meniere’s disease cases should prompt consideration of comorbid migraine, in addition to bilateral Meniere’s disease or asymptomatic hydrops. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Headache and Migraine Management: A Global Perspective)
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12 pages, 247 KB  
Article
The Validation of the Persian Version of the ID-Migraine Questionnaire
by Amirreza Nasirzadeh, Amir Ghasemi, Alireza Afshari-Safavi, Mohammad Ali Nahayati, Reza Jahanshahi, Erfan Yavari, Mahan Farzan, Mahour Farzan, Asghar Bayati and Faraidoon Haghdoost
Med. Sci. 2025, 13(4), 213; https://doi.org/10.3390/medsci13040213 - 1 Oct 2025
Viewed by 1704
Abstract
Background: Migraine is often not diagnosed or treated properly, despite being a common condition. The ID-migraine is a brief, self-administered test developed as a valuable tool for screening and diagnosing migraine in primary care settings. The objective of the present study was to [...] Read more.
Background: Migraine is often not diagnosed or treated properly, despite being a common condition. The ID-migraine is a brief, self-administered test developed as a valuable tool for screening and diagnosing migraine in primary care settings. The objective of the present study was to produce a Persian translation of the original ID-migraine, perform cultural adaptation, and evaluate its validity. Methods: Consecutive patients who attended two neurology clinics for headache were enrolled in the study. Diagnoses were established by headache specialists and were compared with the Persian ID-migraine results. Results: Among the 657 participants included, 470 (71.5%) were clinically diagnosed with migraine, 120 (18.2%) with tension-type headache, and 40 (6.1%) with cluster headache. The validity attributes of the Persian ID-migraine were as follows: sensitivity, 0.96 (95% CI, 0.93–0.98); specificity, 0.46 (95% CI, 0.35–0.56); positive predictive value, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.82–0.89); negative predictive value, 0.76 (95% CI, 0.63–0.87), and a misclassification error of 14.9%. The questionnaire’s Kappa coefficient was 0.78. Conclusions: The Persian version of the ID-migraine questionnaire exhibited sufficient sensitivity and positive predictive value, along with an acceptable misclassification error. However, it demonstrated a deficient level of specificity and a considerably reduced negative predictive value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Headache and Migraine Management: A Global Perspective)
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