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Thomas Jefferson's Headaches: Were They Migraines?
Author(s) -
Cohen Gary L.,
Rolak Loren A.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
headache: the journal of head and face pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.14
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1526-4610
pISSN - 0017-8748
DOI - 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2006.00292.x
Subject(s) - headaches , migraine , independence (probability theory) , medicine , declaration , declaration of independence , pediatrics , history , psychiatry , political science , law , statistics , mathematics , politics
Thomas Jefferson had severe headaches on a number of occasions during his adult life, as noted by most of his biographers. Some occurred during important historical events, including the period just before the writing of the Declaration of Independence . Historians generally have considered these headaches to be migraines, while some physician authors have considered the alternative diagnoses of tension‐type headaches and cluster headaches. A review of the literature, including Jefferson's many letters, suggests that they probably were migraines, although not all of the current diagnostic criteria can be met.