MAGNUM to Speak to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Washington, DC on Migraine Disease

Washington, DC (July 30^th, 2004)- Staff members of MAGNUM, The National Migraine Association, announced a Migraine disease health promotion and education presentation: 'How to Avoid and Overcome Migraines' for the CDC National Center for Health Statistics, located in Hyattsville Maryland, on Thursday August 5, 2004. Mr. Michael John Coleman, Executive Director, Ms. Terri Miller Burchfield, Legislative Director, and special guest speaker Susan Moeller Denny, MAGNUM's Information Services Director, will speak about Migraine disease management from 2:00 pm to 3:10 pm. They will provide 50 minutes of lecture, with a question and answer period of approximately 15 minutes afterwards.

MAGNUM is thrilled to have an opportunity to share accurate information about Migraine disease with employees of the CDC. Migraineurs can benefit greatly from a 'whole body' approach to Migraine disease management. In fact, President George W. Bush, the first American President to recognize Migraine as a major public health issue, has noted: 'Through educational efforts and sharing information about treatment options, organizations like [MAGNUM] enable many individuals who suffer from Migraines and other head-pain disorders to significantly alleviate their painful symptoms.'

With thirty-two million Americans suffering from Migraine, this disease is a major public health issue, on which MAGNUM has worked tirelessly for over a decade to focus the public's attention. With nearly eighty percent of sufferers being women, Migraine is also a key women's health issue. In an official letter MAGNUM presented to XI Congress of the International Headache Society last fall in Rome, Italy, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson said the following: 'Every year, millions of people around the world suffer from debilitating and often dangerous headaches such as Migraines. These afflictions do more than simply cause pain - they degrade quality of life, they affect work, and they can become full-fledged disabilities in themselves.'

Secretary Thompson's point is punctuated by The Burden of Migraine in the United States: Disability and Economic Costs report. The report estimated the economic burden for employers and individuals with migraines (that require 112 million bedridden days) is $13 billion a year from missed workdays and impaired work function[1]. This simply highlights MAGNUM's position that better patient education as to all aspects of Migraine disease management - preventive care, abortive treatment, pain-management, and trigger management - are critical to a Migraineur's positive quality of life. In addition, this multifactorial approach exposes sufferers to many non-drug treatment options to augment their overall disease management approach and leads to less debilitation from Migraine.

MAGNUM works on various levels and through multiple avenues to raise the profile of Migraine disease, such as working with the World Headache Alliance, and representing the United States a few years ago when the World Health Organization (WHO) drafted its Blue Book Report on the severe impact of Migraine and headache disorders as a major world health issue. This document lead to a second report issued earlier this year in Denmark, where an international Migraine & Headache Awareness month of September was also established. This International Migraine & Headache Awareness Month coincides with MAGNUM's Congressional draft legislation to create an American month as well, and has the support of healthcare leaders like Senator John Warner (R-VA) and Congressman James Moran (D-VA).

            For more information, or to learn more about Migraine disease please visit MAGNUM's top-rated and award-winning healthcare website www.migraines.org. Please visit www.cdc.gov too.

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