Neurológia pre prax 5/2010

How recognize and treat medication overuse headache

In 1988, it used term „drug-induced headache“, but the new term medication overuse headache was introduced in the 2004. Medication overuse headache is a biobehavioral disorder and may be response to both chronic pain or, in headache-prone patients, medication overuse, which can induce the headache. The accurate prevalence is uncertain, probably 4–10 % patients with headache had medication overuse headache, and about 1–2 % of the general population suffered from chronic daily headache associated with the overuse of analgesic. Stopping the acute medication may result in withdrawal symptoms and a period of increased headache, subsequent headache improvement occurs usually but no always. In 2006, a revision of diagnostic criteria was done for medication overused headache.

Keywords: headache, medication overuse, acute treatment, prophylactic medication.