Here’s a look at some media appearances by Ayer Neuroscience Institute physicians since our last edition:

Facebook LIVE: Migraines with Dr. Brooke Pellegrino

Answering questions about migraines is Dr. Brooke Pellegrino from the Hartford HealthCare Headache Center. Video courtesy of the American Migraine Foundation. Recorded June 13, 2017.

Facebook LIVE: Ask the Expert with Dr. Joel Bauman

Neurologist Dr. Joel Bauman answers questions about spine surgery and the new Mazor technology.

Wearable technology for migraine treatment?The Hartford HealthCare Headache Center is the leading center for studying an innovative technology using a wearable device for the treatment of migraines without medication – without even going near your head!

Hartford Magazine: Counter-Punching Parkinson’s: Boxing Can Boost Physical And Emotional Health. 
Dr. J. Antonelle de Marcaida of Hartford Healthcare’s David and Rhoda Chase Family Movement Disorders Center in Vernon is quoted in an article about the benefits of boxing for those living with Parkinson’s. Read more. 

Bristol Press:  Healthy Living: Debilitating migraines can be treated

Written by Dr. Abigail Chua

Hartford HealthCare Ayer Neuroscience Institute Headache Center at MidState Medical Center 

Anyone who has ever had a migraine knows the feeling all too well. Intense throbbing pain, extreme sensitivity to light, sound or smell, as well as nausea, vomiting, disorientation, confusion, inability to work and loss of focus are just some of the symptoms that a person with migraines can experience. 

While June was National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, millions of people around the world suffer from intense migraines throughout the year.

A complex neurological condition, migraine affects approximately 14% of the world’s population and is ranked as the seventh leading cause of disability worldwide by the World Health Organization. Some studies indicate the financial impact of migraines to be billions of dollars per year because of the use of medications, emergency department visits and missed work time.

Migraines impact women more than men, are most frequent among people ages 35-55, and tend to run in families. Some people experience warning signs, which include vision issues or numbness in various parts of the body, while others get no advance notice at all. Some people have chronic headaches, which mean more than 15 per month, while others experience episodic migraines.

But regardless of the frequency of migraine attacks, each episode has the potential to cause significant pain and disability. This is because a migraine is so much more than just a headache.”

No matter what category you fall in, the bottom line is that they are extremely painful, and usually misunderstood by people who have never experienced them.

As a headache specialist, I have seen patients whose lives have been devastated by their migraines. Well-meaning friends and family offer words such as “Oh, I get headaches too” or “Why don’t you just take a couple ibuprofen?” without realizing how hurtful those words can be. It can be difficult for migraineurs to convey the full impact of their migraine and even more difficult for persons without migraines to understand their pain.

But migraines don’t need to be a hopeless condition. Although there is no cure, there are many treatment options available – from ice packs and caffeine to more complex treatments and procedures that can be offered by headache specialists.

For more information about headache centers near you, call 860.696.2925 or visit www.hartfordhealthcare.org/services/headache-center .