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Jimmy Erwin and son, Will Erwin.

March 21st is Cluster Headache Awareness Day. The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation mission is to find a cure for these agonizing "suicide" headaches.

HOUSTON, TEXAS, UNITED STATES, March 17, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Cluster Headache Awareness Day is Tuesday, March 21st. Cluster headaches are known as "suicide headaches" because of the intense pain and lack of treatment options. The pain of clusters has been described as a hot poker being jabbed into the eye or temple. Roughly 12% of Americans experience debilitating headaches, including cluster headaches, yet there has been little effort to discover the cause of cluster headaches or much less, a cure. Many sufferers give up hope and see taking their own life as the only viable escape from the pain and suffering.

This is what Houstonians Jimmy and Pam Erwin experienced with their son, Will, who suffered for years. At the age of 24, Will lost hope and took his own life to escape the agony. The Erwins wanted to prevent others from experiencing the same tragedy, so they founded The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation. The mission is to find a cure for debilitating headaches. Through their efforts, they established The Will Erwin Headache Research Center, led by renowned neurologist and headache research specialist Dr. Mark Burish, to treat patients, as well as conduct research aimed at understanding debilitating headaches and ultimately finding a cure.

Presently, The Center is conducting a survey to test a new quality of life scale for cluster headache, which will be used for insurance considerations and the assignment of a disability score for those who experience cluster headaches in the United States. Anyone age 18 or older who is currently in their cluster headache cycle is eligible and encouraged to participate.

The Center is also conducting one of only three clinical trials for cluster headache in the United States today. Of the three, this is the non-pharmaceutical clinical trial, testing high doses of vitamin D for treating cluster headaches. As vitamin D is available over the counter, it will be an affordable and accessible alternative to pharmaceuticals if proven effective. All cluster headache sufferers age 18 or older are eligible and encouraged to participate in the seven-week trial.

The Center is actively searching for participants for both the research survey and clinical trial. Read more about the survey at https://cureheadaches.org/questionnaire and the clinical trial at https://cureheadaches.org/clinical-trial. For further information on eligibility and requirements, contact Dr. Burish via email at nctt.wec@uth.tmc.edu or by phone at 713-486-7771.

For those who do not experience debilitating headaches but want to help, The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation is supported by grants, as well as donations. Donations may be made online at https://cureheadaches.org/contribute/.

About The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation
The mission of The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation is to bring relief to sufferers worldwide afflicted with debilitating headaches by funding research focused on finding a cure. The Foundation has teamed up with Memorial Hermann Health System and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School to fund leading research dedicated to these neurological disorders, and more importantly, bring an end to the pain they cause. To learn more, please visit www.cureheadaches.org.

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Additional Information
Cluster Headache
Cluster headache is a severe headache disorder, affecting approximately 1 in 1000 people. It often goes undiagnosed or is misdiagnosed as a tension or migraine headache, which leads to poor or inappropriate treatment. The most prominent features of the disorder are its circannual and circadian periodicity (with headaches generally occurring in “clusters” either in the spring or fall and generally during sleep), its intense and unilateral pain, and its autonomic features, including drooping of one eyelid, watering and redness of one eye, swelling of one side of the face and running of one nostril. There are a variety of treatments, though, in a substantial number of patients, none are sufficiently effective. While there are some hereditary cases and some links to particular molecular pathways and brain areas, the cause of cluster headaches is still unknown, and no cure exists.

The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation
The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation was founded in 2014 by Jimmy and Pam Erwin after the tragic passing of their son, Will Erwin. The mission of The Foundation is to bring relief to sufferers, globally, who are afflicted with debilitating headaches, including migraine and cluster headaches, by funding research focused on finding a cure. The Foundation brings together a community of headache sufferers, family, and friends whose lives are impacted by this disorder, as well as researchers and physicians committed to finding a cure.

The Will Erwin Headache Research Center
The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation established The Will Erwin Headache Research Center at the Memorial Hermann Mischer Neuroscience Institute (MNI). This first-of-its-kind national research center opened in February 2016 and is led by Dr. Mark Burish, board-certified neurologist and interventional pain specialist. The Center aims to understand the mechanisms underlying debilitating headaches and facial pain disorders, with a focus on clinical research. Dr. Burish’s work at The Center has revealed the link between circadian rhythm and cluster headaches, among other important discoveries.

The Survey
The current quality of life scales for headaches do not capture the unique features of cluster headache. The Will Erwin Headache Research Center’s Research Study: Validation of an English Questionnaire on the Impact of Cluster Headache is an online survey based on a tested German scale called the Cluster Headache Impact Questionnaire. Anyone with cluster headache age 18 or older is eligible to participate. Participants will complete three online surveys, each taking 15 minutes or less. Read more about the survey and sign up to participate at https://cureheadaches.org/questionnaire/.

The Vitamin D Clinical Trial
Many cluster headache patients report that high-dose Vitamin D reduces the number of attacks, but there has never been a controlled trial. The Will Erwin Headache Research Center’s High Dose Vitamin D Plus Multivitamin in the Prevention of Cluster Headache: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial will test high-dose vitamin D plus a multivitamin to reduce the number of cluster headache attacks. Anyone with cluster headache cycles lasting at least six weeks who are 18-70 years old and residing in the US can participate.

Lucy Buller
The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation
+1 713-238-9100
lucy@hollinden.com
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Cluster Headaches - Finding a Cure for all Pain Warriors