Introduction
The scholars of ancient Egypt (1200 BC) are believed to have been the first to record the symptoms of migraine headache, and a prescription for a cure has been found recorded on a papyrus: a clay crocodile with grain in its mouth was to be tightly bound to the sufferer’s head using a strip of linen that bore the names of the gods. Later, at the time of Hippocrates (400 BC), treatment was by blood-letting and herbal tinctures. Migraine treatment made little progress until the second half of the 19th century when extracts of ergot was found to be effective and acetylsalicylic acid also became available. The development of ergotamine tartrate provided a more convenient form of the active principle of ergot and often in combination with caffeine became a standard treatment for migraine attacks.
What is Migraine?
Migraine is a type of headache that causes a severe, throbbing pain, often on only one side of the head, which may be accompanied by sensitivity to light or noise. A minority of migraine attacks are preceded by transient visual or sensory disturbances. One of the Indian studies have shown that 10% of the general population have migraine. The prevalence of migraine is 12 to 20% in women and 8 to 12% in men.