A novel therapy using a miniature nerve stimulator instead of medication for the treatment of profoundly disabling headache disorders improved the experience of pain by 80-95 percent, according to a new study from the University of California, San Francisco and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London.

Over 40% of headache sufferers believed that others dismiss headache as a valid reason to miss an event. Nearly half (42%) of those who missed work or another function because of a headache were not truthful about the reason of their absence. The reasons that they weren’t truthful included that they were embarrassed to miss events because of their headaches (35%) and because they thought they should be able to “tough it out” (36%).

A recent survey conducted by the National Headache Foundation (NHF) found that 90% of headache sufferers also suffer from symptoms of depression. Respondents noted that the most common symptoms included energy loss (67%), difficulty sleeping or oversleeping (66%), difficulty thinking or concentrating (60%), sad mood (56%) and loss of interest or pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed (56%).

Anybody who’s tried to concentrate on work while suffering a headache knows that pain compellingly commands attention—which is how evolution helped ensure survival in a painful world. Now, researchers have pinpointed the brain region responsible for pain’s ability to affect cognitive processing.

Combining two different types of treatment for migraine results in better symptom relief than taking either one of the medications, according to a study in the April 4 issue of JAMA.