Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Jul 13;19(1):50.
doi: 10.1186/s10194-018-0875-x.

Medication-overuse headache: a widely recognized entity amidst ongoing debate

Nicolas Vandenbussche  1 , Domenico Laterza  2 , Marco Lisicki  3 , Joseph Lloyd  4 , Chiara Lupi  5 , Hannes Tischler  6 , Kati Toom  7   8 , Fenne Vandervorst  9 , Simone Quintana  10 , Koen Paemeleire  11 , Zaza Katsarava  12
Affiliations
Review

Medication-overuse headache: a widely recognized entity amidst ongoing debate

Nicolas Vandenbussche et al. J Headache Pain. .

Abstract

Medication overuse in primary headache disorders is a worldwide phenomenon and has a role in the chronification of headache disorders. The burden of disease on individuals and societies is significant due to high costs and comorbidities. In the Third Edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders, medication-overuse headache is recognized as a separate secondary entity next to mostly primary headache disorders, although many clinicians see the disease as a sole complication of primary headache disorders. In this review, we explore the historical background of medication-overuse headache, its epidemiology, phenomenology, pathophysiology and treatment options. The review explores relevant unanswered questions and summarizes the current debates in medication-overuse headache.

Keywords: Medication-overuse headache; Nosology; Review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ information

Nicolas Vandenbussche, Domenico Laterza, Marco Lisicki, Joseph Lloyd, Chiara Lupi, Hannes Tischler, Kati Toom, Fenne Vandervorst and Simone Quintana are Junior Fellows of EHF-SAS.

Koen Paemeleire and Zaza Katsarava are Senior Fellows of EHF-SAS.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

NV has received travel and educational grants from Allergan.

KP has received personal compensation from Allergan, Almirall, Amgen/Novartis, Autonomic Technologies Inc., Coherex, Janssen-Cilag, Lilly, Medtronic, Pfizer, Sandoz, Sanofi, St Jude Medical and Teva for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board and/or speaking. ZK has received honoraria from Novartis, Allergan, MSD, Lilly, TEVA.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Current understanding of the pathophysiology of medication-overuse headache (MOH). The knowledge on the pathophysiology of MOH involves conversion from and reversion to primary headache disorders, showing changes in physiological processes, functional connectivity and structural changes of the central nervous system, in patients with underlying genetic susceptibility. Abbreviations: MOH: medication-overuse headache; CNS: central nervous system
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Diener HC, Holle D, Solbach K, Gaul C. Medication-overuse headache: risk factors, pathophysiology and management. Nat Rev Neurol. 2016;12:575–583. doi: 10.1038/nrneurol.2016.124. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Evers S, Marziniak M. Clinical features, pathophysiology, and treatment of medication-overuse headache. Lancet Neurol. 2010;9:391–401. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(10)70008-9. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Boes CJ, Capobianco DJ. Chronic migraine and medication-overuse headache through the ages. Cephalalgia. 2005;25:378–390. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2982.2005.00868.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lennox W. The use of ergotamine tartrate in migraine. N Engl J Med. 1934;210:1061–1065. doi: 10.1056/NEJM193405172102004. - DOI
    1. Silfverskiöld B. Gynergen abuse in cases of migraine. Acta Psychi Search results. Acta Psychiatr Neurol. 1947;46:281–285. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1947.tb08120.x. - DOI

MeSH terms