Primary Headache Disorders: Focus on Migraine

Abstract

• Migraine is the most common disabling headache disorder. • Most patients with disabling tension-type headache are likely to have migraine and accordingly respond to treatments efficacious in migraine. • Individuals are genetically predisposed to experiencing recurrent migraine. • Evidence supports migraine to be a primarily neural and not vascular mediated disorder. • 1–2% of the population have chronic daily headache associated with acute-relief medication overuse; the majority are migraineurs. • The presence of acute-relief medication overuse renders preventative medication less adequately efficacious.