The two-day webinar was rich with the presence of experts and a lot of updates about headaches. Despite the adverse conditions, about 800 people attended each day. The main attraction of the webinar was the interactive question and answer session which helped the participants to clear their doubts and gain knowledge. 

06-11-2020

The webinar was conducted in a very useful and informative manner for people who suffer from headaches the most and even disturb the balance of life. The meeting has received a great deal of acceptance as people suffering from various types of headaches are not able to go directly to the hospitals for treatment in the current pandemic situation. 

Chairman and senior neurologist at United Medical Center Dr. Abubaker AL Madani has welcomed Dr. Alessandro Terruzzi, Neurology specialist at Mediclinic City Hospital, and Dr. Mina Mofid Atnasous, Neurology specialist at Saudi German Hospital to the webinar. 

Dr. Terruzzi, who is very interested in the diagnosis and treatment of headaches and strokes and cerebrovascular disorders, focused on the topic of long term confidence with anti – CGRPs. He explained the relevance of the anti-CGRP receptor antagonist Erenumab as part of the new prophylactic treatment in the never-ending battle against migraine, citing some clinical cases ranging from minor to complex. He shared some amazing findings about the effectiveness of Erenumab based on the scientific data collected from his studies. According to him, it was efficacious across the entire clinical trial program conducted with Erenumab 70mg and 140mg. Long-term treatment with the same has helped greater proportion of patients achieve greater than or equal to 50% response in the Open Label Treatment Phase compared with the Double Blind Treatment Phase demonstrating sustained or increased efficacy. Change in Monthly Migraine Days over time for the overall study population showed that the adequacy of Erenumab was supported over 52 weeks for both 70mg and 140mg.

Dr. Mina, who is primarily interested in stroke and neuro critical care, centered on headache and migraine management. His updated knowledge on the subject provided the participants with a detailed knowledge of the various types of headaches, their main causes, symptoms and treatment options. He explained all the aspects of choosing the right Triptan for migraine and the scientific methods of preventive therapy. The session included non-medical treatment and antiepileptic drugs along with migraine diet. Dr. Mina also agreed with Dr. Terruzi saying CGRP MABs have stronger efficacies in preventing migraine. According to him, drugs should be individualized, and elected which suits the patient after correct diagnosis. He added that Monoclonal Anti CGRP is a long-awaited class of medication that makes a remarkable effect to prevent and cover the unmet need in treating migraine. 

07-11-2020

The second day session was started by Dr. Abubaker AL Madani. He spoke about the UAE’s migraine experience during the Kovid-19 pandemic. He explained the burden of migraine and tension type headache in the UAE and the timeline of Covid-19 outbreak. According to him, use of personal protective equipments induced headaches among frontline healthcare workers during the pandemic. Most of the migraine treatment during Covid was telephonic. Distant working and lifestyle changes during covid pandemic along with prophylactic therapy helped to reduce migraine severe disabilities. 

Neurology specialist at Mediclinic City Hospital Dr. Youssry Salah Shafiq, who is interested in the area of stroke and headache, took a very informative session on undiagnosed headaches. He introduced a wide variety of rare migraines and explained ways to detect them at an early stage. Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalalgias and Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension caused by CSF volume depletion are the two most important categories. He also shared information about various CSF leaks found in his investigation. According to him, there was 30-40% reduction in the severity of migraine during the Covid season. 

Dr. Abubaker AL Madani expressed his appreciation and sincere gratitude to the members for facilitating the webinar with so many participants over the holidays.