Diamond Education Foundation Headache Management Paradigm 2025

Held in November 2025, this course is designed as an advanced, “fluff-free” educational experience that prioritizes clinical application over theoretical research. It reinforces the “paradigm shift” in headache medicine—moving away from viewing migraine as a vascular event and treating it as a complex neurological disease. The curriculum is heavily case-based, allowing attendees to troubleshoot real-world scenarios with national experts. It specifically targets the “gap” between standard guidelines and the nuances of treating difficult or refractory patients in a busy practice.

+ What You Will Learn

Attendees will be able to:

• Navigate complex differential diagnoses, distinguishing between migraine, cluster headache, and secondary headache disorders (e.g., CSF pressure issues).

• Implement a robust “Acute Care Toolbox” for patients who fail first-line abortive therapies.

• Integrate the latest data on CGRP monoclonal antibodies and gepants into long-term preventive strategies.

• Manage challenging patient populations through interactive case studies, including pregnant/breastfeeding women, the elderly, and adolescents.

• Master interventional skills and “tips and tricks” for procedures like OnabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) and nerve blocks.

• Address the behavioral and communicative aspects of chronic pain management, including medication overuse headache (MOH).

+ Event Details

• Date: Saturday, November 8, 2025

• Location: The University Club of Chicago (76 East Monroe Street), Chicago, Illinois

• Organizer: Diamond Headache Clinic Research & Educational Foundation

+ Who Should Attend

This course is tailored for the interdisciplinary team managing headache disorders:

• Neurologists and Headache Specialists

• Primary Care Physicians (Internal Medicine, Family Practice)

• Advanced Practice Providers (Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants) – Note: The foundation often runs a concurrent or related “LEAPPS” (Launching Empowered Advanced Practice Providers) track.

• Nurses and Allied Health Professionals

+ Why Attend

• Intimate Setting: Held at the historic University Club of Chicago, the venue fosters direct interaction with faculty and peers, unlike massive convention center events.

• Clinical Utility: The “Paradigm” series is known for its focus on what to do on Monday morning. It avoids purely academic debates in favor of actionable clinical pearls.

• Expert Access: The faculty typically includes leaders from the Diamond Headache Clinic (e.g., Dr. Merle Diamond) and other renowned institutions, offering direct access to their clinical reasoning processes.

• 01 Migraine Acute Therapy Toolbox
• 02 Chronic Migraine Epidemiology & Diagnosis
• 03 Migraine, Depression, and Anxiety – Exploring the Bidirectional Relationship and Treatment Implications
• 04 Intracranial Hypertension and Hypotension – Recognizing Overlapping Headache Phenotypes
• 05 Case Study With Special Populations – Geriatrics
• 06 When Dizzy Is Actually a Migraine
• 07 Phases of Migraine – New Insights From MCOA and PROGRESS Trials
• 08 Migraine Management in Breastfeeding – A Case Based Discussion
• 09 How CGRP has Changed Migraine Management
• 10 Management of the Difficult Cluster Headache Patients
• 11 Preventive Concepts