In 2005, the National Headache Foundation established the special
lectureship, the Seymour Diamond, M.D. Lectureship Award, which
recognizes the most significant paper in headache published during the past
year. I was gratified that the Foundation named this award in my honor.
Previous honorées have hailed from several countries including Chile,
Denmark, Germany, Iran, and The Netherlands, as well as the United
States. Prestigious institutions, such as Harvard University and Columbia
University, have been well-represented. And these lectures have highlighted
the outstanding research on headache being undertaken throughout the
world. This issue’s featured article, “Migraine, Epilepsy and Genetics,” based
on the lecture by Melodie Winawer, MD, MS, is an excellent example of
current research.
The question of a relationship between epilepsy and headache has been
debated for many years. Studies at the Cleveland Clinic by A. David Rothner,
MD, have disputed any relationship whatsoever, and numerous other
studies have been equivocal. The genetic study described by Dr. Winawer
implies that there is a genetic connection between these two disorders. The
importance of the results of the Epilepsy Phenome/Genome Project (EPGP)
will have to be sorted out by further epidemiological investigations as well as
genetic studies regarding this connection.
If these results are further proven, we foresee – in the far future – a geneticbased therapy for migraine.
Seymour Diamond, M.D.
Chicago, Illinois
www.headaches.org
|
National Headache Foundation
3