Classification of headaches

It was not until 1962 that the Ad-Hoc Committee of the National Institute o f Health first published a classification of headache syndromes by brief gl ossary definitions. The general disadvantage of such glossary definitions i s that they require subjective interpretation. Therefore under the chairman ship of Prof. fes Olesen, Copenhagen, the International Headache Society pu blished in 1988 on the basis of empirical findings a first ever headache cl assification using operationalized criteria. The headache classification of the International Headache Society was immediately translated into the wor ld's major languages and was adopted by all national headache societies rep resented in the International Headache Society, the World Health Organisati on and the World Federation of Neurology. The new classification proved so successful and enjoyed such rapid international acceptance that no revision was undertaken until 1999. The second edition, again under the chairmanshi p of Prof. fes Olesen, will probably be completed in 2002. The classificati on produced such a high degree of inspiration and motivation of pathophysio logical and epidemiological research work that knowledge in the field of he adache has displayed growth unparalleled in any other field of neurological research. This development was made possible by the determined work of the Chairman of the Headache Classification Committee, Prof. Jes Olesen. He su cceeded in bringing together international researchers, motivating them and jointly turning the current fund of knowledge into a evidence-based classi fication. Prof. Jes Olesen thus performed the decisive pioneering work for all those who have to do with headaches-patients, doctors and scientists. T he IHS classification is the most frequently cited text and one of the most important milestones in the history of the scientific study of headaches.