| World Head Pain Experts Meet in Istanbul | |
- Who: leading head pain experts and advocates from around the globe
- What: 6th Headache Congress, hosted and organized by the European Headache Federation and the Turkish Headache Society
- When: June 26 - 30, 2002
-
Where:
Spectacular Istanbul, Turkey, "the crossroads of the world," "where the
continents meet."
Kary Shannon, Chief Operating officer of the World Headache Alliance was more than pleased with the Congress when I interviewed her via telephone:
- "It was a phenomenal place to be ... Istanbul was a good location. We often meet in and have opportunities to work with organizations from western Europe. Istanbul was an opportunity to work more with eastern organizations and doctors."
- The Congress was a good platform for having a both professional and lay tracks at the same place ... We were able to sit in on the presentations made by the doctors and learn from the scientific sessions."
Audrey Craven, of the World Headache Alliance and Migraine Association of Ireland, remarked to me:
"the EHF Congress presented some interesting science ... The advantage of these congresses are not only the new developments in science but the meeting of minds and in this instance "some of the best "headache minds/brains" in Europe had the opportunity to share ideas etc. Very often it is the exchange of ideas resulting in new vigour and stimulation which leads to innovative thinking."
The topics presented at the Congress included:
- Burden of Headache
- Challenging migraine subtypes
- Migraine and Art
- Migraine genes and geno-phenotype correlations
- Migraine therapy and pharmacogenomics
- Neglected causes of head and facial pains
- Pediatric Headache
- Trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias
Excellent coverage of the Headache Congress was made available by MAGNUM, the National Migraine Association in this press release:
MAGNUM Delivers Paper on “Migraine & Art” in Istanbul at EHF 6th Headache Congress!
United States Senator John Warner Gives MAGNUM Official Letters for Turkey’s
Prime Minister and Minister of Health
ISTANBUL, TURKEY
(July 1st, 2002) - Staff members of MAGNUM, The National Migraine Association,
visited Turkey’s beautiful ‘crossroads of the world’ city of Istanbul to attend
the European Headache Federation's (EHF) 6th Annual Headache Congress. The World
Headache Alliance (WHA) Council meeting was held concurrently. In addition,
MAGNUM Executive Director & Founder Michael John Coleman was a guest speaker at
the medical conference, delivering a paper on “Migraine and Art”.
MAGNUM has made it a practice to work with the U.S. government when it goes
overseas, and took the opportunity in Turkey to help improve international
governments’ understanding of Migraine disease issues. To that fact, MAGNUM
turned to prominent Virginia Senator John
Warner (R-VA) who has been a major
supporter of public health issues. MAGNUM was fortunate to work with the Senate
in obtaining official Congressional documents for presentation to the Turkish
Headache Society while attending both the European Headache Federation Congress
(EHF) and the World Headache’s (WHA) international NGO (Nor-Government
Organization) meeting. The Turkish Headache Society will deliver the documents
to the Prime Minister and Minister of Health of Turkey in Ankara.
American President George W. Bush just last week continued to encourage American
NGO’s to get involved helping people and the community post 9-11. According to
Terri Miller Burchfield, MAGNUM’s Legislative Director, “MAGNUM felt that it was
more important than ever, with this event being hosted in a major Muslim nation,
that we take this opportunity to reach out to the Turkish sufferers and all
people in the world who suffer needlessly from headache disorders.” Turkey is a long-time American ally
and an ally in the war on terrorism. MAGNUM felt it was important to ask the
U.S. government to issue a letter of support to those in Turkey attending the
Conference stating that America appreciates the opportunity the Turkish Headache
Society has offered through this conference. It was in that spirit that MAGNUM
turned to U.S. Senator John Warner of Virginia, to help MAGNUM hand deliver
Congressional letter(s) of support those who suffer from Migraine in Turkey and
those around the world. We were fortunate to have the support of this
compassionate Senator who serves on several key Senate committees. Senator
Warner
was honored recently at the Turkish Embassy in Washington, DC for his combat
service in the Korean War and celebrating the Korean War Memorial. Turkey fought
valiantly side by side with the United States in that United Nations sanctioned
conflict.
In the United States Senate letter to Turkey’s Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit,
Senator John Warner said: “I commend you for your leadership in advancing awareness of
Migraine disease and headache disorder in Turkey and around the world.” The
letter goes on to note: “I have had the opportunity to work with MAGNUM, The
National Migraine Association in their efforts to advance the knowledge and
understanding of Migraine disease and headache disorder in the U.S. over the
last decade.” The document continues to commend the work the
American Council of
Headache Education (ACHE) as “…another notable American NGO, to help lessen the
burden of head-pain suffers worldwide.”.
In a second United States Senate letter to Osman Durmus, Turkey’s Minister of
Health, the American Senator praised the Health Minister for his nation’s
hosting of the 6th Headache Congress in Istanbul. Senator Warner expressed: “By
increasing public understanding of these debilitating diseases, you point the
way to a better future for countless individuals around the world who suffer
from these disorders.” The Senator goes on to point out that Turkey holding the EHF 6h Headache Congress “…will undoubtedly bring help for head-pain sufferers
in Turkey, the United States, and other countries around the world.”
This EHF event took place on June 26 - 30, 2002 at the Istanbul Convention & Exhibition Center (Lütfi Kirdar Congress Center). The scientific programme includes plenary lectures, symposia, poster presentations, sponsored symposia and satellite meetings which enable those in attendance the chance of sharing their international medical experiences with each other.
One such lecture was a WHA Special Lecture on Migraine & Art in the center’s main Anadolu Auditorium. The paper “Migraine Disease And Its Relationship With Art” was written and presented by Michael John Coleman, Executive Director of MAGNUM, The National Migraine Association and Director and Trustee of the World Headache Alliance. “What better place to discuss Migraine and art…” noted Coleman “…than a city has been the capital of three great empires; that of the Roman, the Byzantine and the Ottoman Empires.” Mr. Coleman discussed how Migraine disease and head-pain disorders impact the voice of artists and their perception of the world around them. As a Migraine sufferer since the age of six, Coleman discussed how this debilitating disease has affected the development of his unique approach to his award-winning artwork. He then offered a perspective on how this neurological illness is reflected in artwork based upon his life, interviews with living proficient nationally known artists who are Migraineurs, such as painter Janet McKenzie, and an investigation of past internationally-renown artists including Vincent Van Gogh, and other recognized as Migraineurs. Coleman sets forth a better understanding of the relationship between Migraine and art allows art to be used as an effective instrument of public health education, as implemented by MAGNUM and other health advocates. This lecture, was first heard in Sicily last year at the Bayer Press Workshop on Migraine, and it will continue to be developed as MAGNUM get more requests on this interesting topic.
Many of the world’s best and leading Migraine and headache medical experts were in attendance, including Britain’s Dr. Tim Steiner, EHF President (also WHA) and Dr. Peter Goadsby; Dr. Jes Olesen of Denmark; Italy’s Dr. Matilde Leonardi (WHO) and F. Antonaci MD PhD; Belgium’s Dr. J. Schoenen; Turkey’s Dr. Prof. Dr. F. Cankat Tulunay (President of the Turkish Headache Society) and F. Idiman; Germany’s W.D. Gerber; and India’s Dr. K. Ravishankar (WHA) to name but a few. Also in attendance where well know international patient advocates, Directors and Trustees of the World Headache Alliance: C. Andree, Förderverein Migraine Action from Switzerland, American Michael John Coleman with MAGNUM, Ireland’s Audrey Craven, of the Migraine Association of Ireland, New Zealander Ann Hallam with the New Zealand Migraine Sufferers Support Group, Pierre Lefebvre with Fondation Quebecoise de Migraine et Cephalees Canada, Luis Taboas of Puerto Rico with Fundacion Puertorriquena de Dolor de Cabeza, England’s Ann Turner with Migraine Action Association, and WHA COO Kary Shannon from Canada. MAGNUM’s Information Services Director, Susan Moeller Denny was also in attendance manning the WHA’s colorful and informative display booth.
For more information, visit MAGNUM’s top rated and award winning healthcare website www.migraines.org, for more on the 6th Headache Congress visit their website at http://www.6thehf.org. For further information on Migraine and headache disorders also visit the American Council for Headache Education (ACHE) at www.achenet.org, and the World Headache Alliance at www.wha.ws.
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