This book is the third volume (following the 1968 and 1985 editions) of the Handbook of Clinical Neurology devoted entirely to the vast and complex subject of headaches. The publishers of this third series entrusted this difficult task to Prof. Giuseppe Nappi and Prof. Michael Moskowitz.
Since the last edition, incredible progress has been made in the understanding of many aspects of headaches, in the fields of biochemistry, neurophysiology and genetics, in the epidemiological, pharmacological and surgical fields, and also in the fields of functional neuroradiology and clinical psychology. To have an idea of the progress made over the past 25–30 years in headache science, one need only think that this same period has seen the acquisition of knowledge now considered fundamental, such as understanding of the trigeminovascular system, the genetics of migraine and the introduction of triptans in the management of migraine and cluster headaches.
This book offers a complete overview and update of the scientific and cultural developments that, since the publication of the previous Handbook on headaches, have revolutionised understanding of migraine and other headaches. This process was made possible by the fact that many of the distinguished authors who contributed to the book have been protagonists in the advancement of headache science in recent decades.
The book begins with several chapters covering general aspects of headache (particularly socio-economic ones), the contributions made by the basic sciences to increasing understanding of the pathophysiology of headaches, and the management of the various forms of headache and the problems related to them.
The main body of the book is devoted entirely to primary and secondary headaches. These important chapters inevitably make reference to the fundamentally important International Classification of Headache Disorders, first published 25 years ago and republished more recently as an updated second edition. Another major difference that distinguishes this volume from the previous one, and highlights the changes that have taken place in the intervening years, is the ample space devoted to the treatment of various forms of headache. Until a few years ago, the physician treating headache patients had few means at his disposal to address the most common but disabling forms of headache, such as migraine and cluster headache. The advances made, from the perspective of headache, in a range of areas (pathophysiology, pharmacology and surgery), have had important implications for the therapeutic management of these conditions. Indeed, in this third series of the Handbook, no fewer than 15 chapters are devoted to non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatments for headaches.
The book ends with several chapters that seek to clarify a number of controversial issues, pathogenetic (chronobiological correlates, endocrinological and neuroimaging aspects), nosographic (headache and dizziness, headache in children) and therapeutic (new developments).
The aim of the publishers of this third edition of the Handbook was to provide basic researchers and clinicians with an updated bibliographical resource that would increase all-round knowledge of the various forms of headache and also provide pointers for new lines of research. On reading this book it is clear that Professors Nappi and Moskowitz have accomplished this arduous task. The broad range of different skills and backgrounds (not only geographical but also cultural) of the editors and co-authors of this book not only provide a guarantee of its undisputed scientific quality, but also give it an international dimension.
Ottar Sjaastad, a protagonist of modern headache science as well as founder and first editor-in-chief of the journal Cephalalgia(1981), commenting on this “solid text”, described it as a “big” and “impressive” volume that might be considered the “bible of headache”.