HOMEPRODUCTSCOMPANYCONTACTFAQResearchDictionaryPharmaSign Up FREE or Login

The biography of Mary E. O'Sullivan: an early American headache specialist.

Abstract
The aim of this study was to review the life of Mary E. O'Sullivan and to summarize her important contributions to the study of migraine. Mary E. O'Sullivan underwent extensive training to become a neurologist at a time when only 5% of women in America were physicians. She published five papers on migraine. In a 1936 Journal of the American Medical Association article, she described a patient with ergotamine overuse headache and recommended that daily doses of oral ergotamine should be avoided. Three years later she described migraine as a 'complex' syndrome with multiple causes and multiple cures. Mary E. O'Sullivan, an ambitious female headache specialist of the 1930s, was an early advocate of the use of ergotamine to treat migraine, yet she was one of the first to report ergotamine overuse headache. Although her life was short, her research, knowledge and ambition at a time when women had limited opportunities in medicine have left a mark.
AuthorsN U Jerath, J S Newman, C J Boes
JournalCephalalgia : an international journal of headache (Cephalalgia) Vol. 29 Issue 10 Pg. 1028-33 (Oct 2009) ISSN: 1468-2982 [Electronic] England
PMID19735530 (Publication Type: Biography, Historical Article, Journal Article, Portrait)
Topics
  • Headache (history)
  • History, 19th Century
  • History, 20th Century
  • Neurology (history)
  • Physicians, Women (history)
  • United States

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.
Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!


Choose Username:
Email:
Password:
Verify Password:
Enter Code Shown: