Migraine: Diagnosis and Therapeutic Advances
Course #50073 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
Advances have provided insightful evidence regarding the role of the trigeminal system, cortical spreading depression, ion-channel pathology, and signaling molecules, such as nitric oxide, adenosine, and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), in the pathophysiology of migraine. The differential diagnosis between migraine and the most common medical conditions (e.g., cluster and tension headache) has been extensively reviewed. However, the differential diagnosis and management of other cephalalgias relevant to medical and dental practice, such as cranial neuralgias, trigeminal pathology, temporomandibular joint dysfunction, and oral pathologies, are seldom addressed. An approach combining pharmacological and nonpharmacological therapies, including alternative and complementary approaches, will be discussed. This course provides an integrated approach to the clinically relevant advances in the understanding of migraine pathophysiology and novel therapies and focuses on the differential diagnosis between migraine and a group of common, yet often overlooked, medical and dental conditions.
This course is designed for dental professionals involved in the care of patients with known or suspected migraine.
The purpose of this course is to provide an update of research elucidating the pathophysiology of migraine, which has resulted in "mechanism-based" therapies; to review the differential diagnosis of headache disorders; and to summarize the current and evidence-based guidelines for clinical management of migraine. The course will highlight the need for a graded therapeutic response based on frequency of attacks and pattern of symptoms, and the importance of patient education and self-management techniques as a means of ensuring compliance and improving outcomes.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Discuss the prevalence of migraine in relation to age, gender, and such factors as socioeconomic status, education, and comorbidities.
- Provide an updated overview of the progress made in the understanding of migraine pathophysiology.
- Review the clinical profiles and diagnostic criteria of migraine with or without aura, and summarize disease staging.
- Provide an updated overview of the differential diagnosis of migraines focusing on medical and dental conditions, such as temporomandibular disorders, sinusitis, and orofacial pain.
- Discuss the preventive and acute treatment of migraine.
A. José Lança, MD, PhD, received his Medical Degree at the University of Coimbra in Coimbra, Portugal, and completed his internship at the University Hospital, Coimbra. He received his PhD in Neurosciences from a joint program between the Faculties of Medicine of the University of Coimbra, Portugal, and the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. He was a Gulbenkian Foundation Scholar and received a Young Investigator Award by the American Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.
Dr. Lança participated in international courses and conferences on neurosciences. He has contributed to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the ontogenetic development of the brain opiatergic system. As a research scientist at the Addiction Research Foundation (ARF) in Toronto, he initiated research on the functional role played by dopaminergic cell transplants on alcohol consumption, leading to the publication of the first research reports on cell transplantation and modulation of an addictive behavior. Subsequently, he also investigated the role played by other neurotransmitter systems in the limbic system and mechanisms of reward, co-expression of classical neurotransmitters and neuropeptides and potential role in neuropsychiatric disorders.
He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Faculty of Medicine and at the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Toronto, where he lectures and directs several undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacology and clinical pharmacology courses. He was the Program Director for Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the University of Toronto. He has developed clinical pharmacology courses for the Medical Radiation Sciences and Chiropody Programs of The Michener Institute for Health Sciences at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Lança’s commitment to medical education started while a medical student, teaching in the Department of Histology and Embryology, where he became cross-appointed after graduation. In Toronto, he has contributed extensively to curriculum development and teaching of pharmacology to undergraduate, graduate, and medical students.
He has authored research and continuing education in peer-reviewed publications and is the author of six chapters in pharmacology textbooks. Dr. Lança has conducted research in various areas including neuropharmacology, pharmacology of alcoholism and drug addiction, and herbal medications.
He has developed and taught courses and seminars in continuing medical education and continuing dental education. His commitment to continuing education emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to clinical pharmacology.
Contributing faculty, A. José Lança, MD, PhD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Mark J. Szarejko, DDS, FAGD
The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.