AI Explains Books

Headaches are often dismissed as a common annoyance, yet migraine is consistently ranked as the second leading cause of years lived with disability globally. This book moves beyond common misconceptions to treat head pain as the complex neurological crisis it is. We begin by establishing the profound societal burden of these disorders and tracing the intellectual journey from Thomas Willis’s 17th-century anatomical observations to the rigorous, standardized framework of the International Headache Society (ICHD-3). This foundation is crucial, as the first and most critical skill in headache medicine is mastering the clinical triage—differentiating the benign primary disorder from the potentially catastrophic secondary headache, the "red flags" that demand urgent neuroimaging.

The core of this text lies in decoding the why. We dissect the profound shift from Harold Wolff’s outdated vascular hypothesis to the current neurogenic model. You will learn how the migraine attack is initiated by an electrical event—Cortical Spreading Depression (CSD)—a slow-moving wave of depolarization that sweeps across the cortex at just 2 to 6 millimeters per minute, directly explaining the gradual onset of the visual aura. This electrical spark ignites the chemical fire of the trigeminal system, driven by the neuropeptide Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP). Understanding this CGRP pathway is the key to the modern pharmacological revolution, which has delivered highly targeted treatments—the monoclonal antibodies and gepants—that stabilize the hyper-excitable brain with unprecedented precision and minimal systemic side effects.

This book is designed as an authoritative guide for neurologists, residents, primary care physicians, and advanced practitioners seeking to master the current standard of care. It provides comprehensive playbooks for personalized medicine, detailing how to match drug mechanisms (from beta-blockers to ditans) to complex patient profiles, including those with comorbidities like depression, sleep disorders, and emerging post-viral syndromes. We also explore the cutting edge of non-pharmacological intervention, including FDA-cleared neuromodulation devices and the role of artificial intelligence in triage and predictive treatment selection. By integrating historical context with cutting-edge molecular science and practical clinical strategy, this text offers a complete, evidence-based understanding necessary to move beyond trial-and-error and deliver truly effective, individualized care.