Lifting The Burden Newsletter - Issue 1 (January 2008)

Welcome to the first issue of LTB News, a regular newsletter to keep you up to date with what's happening - and what is planned to happen - in Lifting The Burden: the Global Campaign to Reduce the Burden of Headache Worldwide.

First, an introduction

I am Marianne MacDonald, freelance medical writer. I have a long-standing interest in headache disorders and have agreed to write and edit LTB News for Lifting The Burden. You will hear from me about every three months from now on.

This and the next few issues will catch up on the many activities already completed or underway within Lifting The Burden. Future issues will then focus on what's new.

So, below are some of the highlights. Simply click on the link at the end of each news item to go to the full article.

To contact me on anything relating to this newsletter, or that may be of interest, please use my email: isismedical@btinternet.com.

What's been done

• Global headache prevalence study published - a Lifting The Burden working group published its review of the world literature on headache prevalence in Cephalalgia last year. The study revealed some interesting findings about headache prevalence around the world. For more, click here.

• New population-based survey in Republic of Georgia - over the next few years, Lifting The Burden will endeavour to fill the knowledge gaps exposed by the global prevalence survey. First to be surveyed was Georgia, a country that was part of the former USSR. For more, click here.

• Population-based survey completed in Moldova - following on from the Georgia study, the initial results of the first ever population-based Moldovan headache epidemiology study are now available. For more, click here.

• Lifting The Burden contributes to a major new WHO publication - a new publication from the World Health Organization on the public health challenges arising from neurological disorders contains a full chapter on headache. The publication acknowledges that '... healthcare systems fail to make effective treatments available'. For more, click here.

• Harry Potter has probable migraine - Lifting The Burden must reach out to the world of Wizards, Witches and Muggles. An analysis of Harry Potter's headaches, described by JK Rowling, reveals he has probable migraine according to International Headache Society diagnostic criteria. For more, click here.

Helping to treat headache

• Information leaflets for people with headache now available - designed to help people with headache understand their disorder and its treatment, and to help themselves, leaflets on tension-type headache, migraine, cluster headache, chronic daily headache and female hormones and headache are available to all to download. For more, click here.

And coming soon ...

• Further leaflets, and a range of other management aids - designed for use particularly in primary care. For more, click here.

About Lifting The Burden

• For a reminder of Lifting The Burden's vision and aims, click here.
• Lifting The Burden at the International Headache Society congress - click here.
• For information about Lifting The Burden's new website, click here.

And to end for now ...

We welcome your feedback and thoughts on Lifting The Burden, so don't hesitate to get in touch.

Marianne MacDonald
Editor