Headache Educational Programs [Interview][Transcript]
Guest: Dr. Laine Green
Presenter: Neal Howard
Guest Bio: Laine Green, MSc, MD, FRCPC, assistant professor at the Division of Neurology at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Segment overview: Laine Green, MSc, MD, FRCPC, discusses his involvement in a highly interactive-educational program which included future research priorities, validating potential drug targets, emerging new treatments and the importance of patient advocacy.
Transcription
Health Professional Radio
Neal Howard: Hello and welcome to the program, I’m your host Neal Howard here on Health Professional Radio for this Health Supplier segment of the show. Our guest today is Dr. Laine Green and he’s here to discuss with us a program that has to do with headache education. Welcome to Health Professional Radio Dr. Green.
Dr. Laine Green: Thank you.
N: Give us a bit of background about yourself.
G: Sure. I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Division of Neurology at Dalhousie University which is in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada. I was born and raised in the local area here. I completed my medical school training locally here at Dalhousie University as well as my neurology residency training. During my neurology residency training that I became interested in headache as a subspecialty within neurology. Then I had the opportunity to travel to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale Arizona to work with Dr. David Dodick who you’re also interviewing to complete my headache medicine fellowship. I completed the 2 year fellowship a year of pre-clinical research and then a year of clinical headache medicine training as part of that. Then I returned to Halifax in Dalhousie University to continue on with my neurology and headache medicine career.
N: When we’re talking headaches, are we talking about headaches across the board or are we talking about headaches that are caused by an injury or those that seem to have no physical or outward physical cause such as migraine or tension, stress headaches? Are you specializing in the certain type?
G: Sure. When we talk about headache that is the general term that has been applied, we’re primarily talking about with pain that is primarily focused in the head, face and neck. Headache is often the general term that is applied to this. A lot of what we do as headache medicine specialists would deal with what we call the primary headache disorders, most common of which would be migraine and the related disorders to that. We also as headache medicines specialist would also deal with what we call the secondary headache disorders so other medical conditions whether they’ve been neurological or other general conditions that could cause headache as a symptom of another disorder. So we would be seeing patients and trying to diagnose what the underlying problem is, whether it’s a primary headache disorder or a secondary headache disorder. And beyond ongoing management treatment of those particular disorders based on what the diagnosis is.
N: You’re recently a participant in a program, that was offered by the International Headache Academy.
G: The International Headache Academy just had its 4th installment or a 4th meeting of this group. They started at first in 2014 I believe or in 2013. This is a joint effort that it has been put on by the American Headache Society, the International Headache Society, the Canadian Headache Society and I believe American Migraine Foundation has also helped as part of the co-sponsors. Obviously there has been generous financial assistance from Allegan the meeting possible. And the meeting has been primarily targeted as part of a long term commitment to headache medicine, primarily those in the getting part of their career so students, medical students and primarily residents more in their senior part of their training but also a young physicians either at their headache medicine fellowship stage or within the first 5 years of that completing their headache fellowship. They also include clinician scientist and scientists and researchers that are involved in headache medicine as well. I believe it’s an excellent opportunity, one to interact with colleagues at the similar level of training and similar level of career. But it also allows us to interact with more experienced members within the headache community, not just from the clinical side but also on the researcher side to again part of that mentoring, ongoing mentoring process but also the ongoing learning and educational aspects to headache medicine. It helps further our knowledge and our expertise as we go forward in our career so given the opportunity for clinicians discuss interesting cases. Also an opportunity to discuss recent publications that have particular importance to the field and opportunity to debate topics are of potential clinical concern or clinical difference of opinion shall we say. It also allows to hear both what the young people in the field have to feel on this topics but as well as more experienced members in terms in their impressions and their approaches to the problems that we face.
N: Talk about maybe one thing with your extensive experience dealing with headaches, something that maybe it’s a breakthrough discovery as a result of this meeting, this program, this conference dealing with headaches especially as so many young people are going to be dealing with headaches with the information that folks of maybe my age or older never had at their disposal?
G: I think one of the nice things about the meeting is that we do get a chance to talk about interesting cases or sometimes even particularly difficult cases in terms of one, in terms diagnosing a particular headache problem or even managing particular headaches problems potentially when the first line or the traditional therapy options that we would have would perhaps not working on that. That can be particularly a useful thing as when you have a multitude or a vast array of experience in the audience, I find that particularly hopeful then to be able to take that information back to the patients that I see to then have the confidence to then go forth with potentially different treatment options that I might not be as accustomed to using. But in having that experience and guidance from others in the same field gives me the confidence to go forward and try some things that I may not have used before. It also gives us exposure to some new treatments that are coming along and being developed. We’ve been talking about the new CGRP monoclonal antibodies that are in development that are entering into phase 3 clinical trials and the excitement surrounding those as part of the treatment for migraine and possibly … cluster headache as well as other medical devices, the transcranial magnetic stimulation was also discussed. There are some new and exciting things that are coming out as part of the headache treatment and to hear the expertise from people that have the experience in this area and reassuring to move forward.
N: How much of the information that you gather this conferences is distributed to the other nations that may not have the access or the knowledge of some these new procedures and techniques and treatment and diagnosis of headache?
G: In terms of the distribution, I would not be able to, I don’t know that directly, although in terms of trying to attract applicants and participants to the International Headache Academy so there’s international representation in terms of the delegates that attend the meeting. Primarily it would be from the experience individuals are having so of both National, Continental, US, Canada and International representatives, so they’re then taking back the experience, the knowledge that they gain from the International Headache Academy and then take that back to their area that they’re working and share that experience and share that knowledge that they have to then further the treatment and care of headache disorders in their own area. There has been some discussion of potentially publishing the content of the International Headache Academy although I believe the details have not been completely firmed up enough.
N: In wrapping up, where can our listener go on online and get some more information about the International Headache Academy and Allergan as well.
G: For the International Headache Academy purpose the best tools that would be the americanheadachesociety.org that website, as well the internationalheadachesociety.org website are the two best sources.
N: Thank you for talking with us today.
G: My pleasure.
N: You’ve been listening to Health Professional Radio I’m your host, Neal Howard. Talking with Dr. Laine Green, assistant Professor at the division of neurology at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. And he’s been here talking about his involvement in a headache educational program that was offered by the International Headache Academy in Los Angeles. Transcript and audio of this program are available at healthprofessionalradio.com.au and also at hpr.fm and you can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes.