Book Review: The End of Migraines: 150 Ways to Stop Your Pain
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The recent advances in our understanding and management of migraine have collided with the exponential growth of electronic communication to produce a tremendous volume of related information. So great is that volume, so broad the range of issues addressed and so diverse the multitude of sources that even the migraine-savvy may find it difficult to access reliable information relevant to their needs. Thus arises again the great dilemma of the Age of Electronic Information: while it may be helpful have a sizable haystack, how can we find therein the needles of information we seek? And, if found, can that information be trusted?
Happily, for migraineurs who are dismayed by the existing haystack of relevant information, in his new book entitled The End of Migraines Dr. Alexander Mauskop has greatly simplified the task. In only 8 well-organized chapters, with writing that is clear, concise and easily comprehended, Dr. Mauskop guides the reader through the full spectrum of migraine. His emphasis is on therapeutic management, both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic, but blended with this are helpful insights on topics ranging from the identification of migraine triggers to the question of when diagnostic testing may be indicated; he even finds time to delve into special circumstances such as menstrual migraine and a description of other headache disorders which may be mistaken for migraine.
In its range and clarity, this book nicely reflects its author. A gifted clinician, clinician scientist and educator, Dr. Mauskop has worked for many years to raise the standard of care for migraine and has made important contributions to the arsenal of evidence-based migraine therapies. At the same time, he has maintained a pragmatic, open-minded approach to the practice of headache medicine which embraces the truism that an absence of evidence does not necessarily imply an absence of benefit. He has been a pioneer in the exploration of what he characterizes in this book as “non-drug approaches”.
In describing a wide variety of therapies for the reader, Dr. Mauskop is careful to distinguish between those which possess a solid foundation of scientific evidence and those which do not. Given his extensive clinical experience, his deep knowledge of migraine and his clear-eyed approach to the evaluation of migraine therapies, I particularly appreciated his having graded many of the therapies he describes on a personal “1-10” scale. I know of few other headache subspecialists whose personal opinion of a given therapy I would trust as much.
Highly appropriate for migraine, an extraordinarily common medical disorder whose biologic and therapeutic landscape is ever-evolving, The End of Migraines is published in electronic form. As such, it will be both readily available to that 12% of the general population actively afflicted with the disorder and also easily updated as new information accumulates.
Dr. Mauskop’s comprehensive, accessible and dynamic manual for understanding and managing migraine is a tour de force.
Available through Amazon.
