Newswise — The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) is proud to support the first ever Headache on the Hill event in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2007. It is the largest event of its kind with nearly 50 neurologists visiting Congress to call for stronger support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for headache and migraine research. Congressional visits by participants of Headache on the Hill are scheduled for September 26th. The goal is to increase NIH support for migraine and headache research. Despite the high prevalence of migraine and headache disorders, research funding to identify causes and treatments is disproportionately limited.
"One out of four American families contains someone with migraine," said organizer Robert Shapiro, MD, PhD, of Burlington, Vermont, and member of the American Academy of Neurology. "In response to this huge disease burden, the NIH has never funded headache research at adequate levels. This neglect has resulted in meager development of effective therapies for headache disorders and has led indirectly to the sustained suffering of millions of Americans."
"We fully support the mission of Headache on the Hill to address this disparity," said Catherine M. Rydell, CEO and Executive Director of the AAN.Headache on the Hill was developed by Shapiro and Kathy Gardner, MD, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as part of their 2007 AAN Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum (PALF) Action Plan and modeled after the successful AAN Neurology on the Hill advocacy events.
Both Shapiro and Gardner are graduates of PALF, a prestigious and award-winning advocacy training program for AAN members. The event focuses on cultivating and teaching neurologists who've demonstrated a genuine interest in advocating for their profession and on behalf of their patients. Since 2003, 150 physicians have graduated and are now advocating in 38 U.S. states and 10 countries throughout the world.
Headache on the Hill is also endorsed by the American Headache Society, Headache Cooperative of New England, National Headache Foundation, World Health Organization, MAGNUM/National Migraine Association, the World Headache Alliance, the Migraine and Pain Fund, European Brain Council, European Headache Federation, Migraine Trust and British Association for the Study of Headache.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 20,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as epilepsy, dystonia, migraine, Huntington's disease, and dementia.
For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com.
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