I was curious if anyone here has been treated by or is familiar with the work of Daniel Amen MD and the Amen Clinics, and if he has done any work regarding CH?

Thanks
Thomas  

Not me, but I have to say that's the best name for a clinic that I've ever heard!!  ;D

Not familiar with either--but here's how the Mayo Clinic defines a SPECT scan:

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FWIW, SPECT scans in connection with the Amen Clinics are mentioned in Quackwatch:

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In fairness, take a look at the links at the bottom of the page for Dr. Amen's response, and the subsequent Q&A.  

Best,

George

wrote on Jan 8^th, 2009 at 2:57pm:

I was curious if anyone here has been treated by or is familiar with the work of Daniel Amen MD and the Amen Clinics, and if he has done any work regarding CH? Thanks Thomas

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  Kinder gentler Potter

DJ has a SPECT scan done every year during his followup at Stanford for his Moyamoya.  IMO, I don't think it could help in the process of CH, or is there something else you are being checked for?


Just curious...

Thanks for the links George.

And, Thanks for your reply Steph.

I first saw Amen on a PBS special not too long ago and just noticed he had a book on the best seller list.  I checked out his web site and saw some of the images of the brain he has done.  It just made me wonder what CH might look like, and what kind of approach he would take toward treating CH.  Here, check them out:  START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE  

Well, DJ doesn't suffer (KNOCK ON WOOD) anymore, but I can tell you that nothing from a CH attack would show up in a scan.  I have seen many SPECT films and the contrast shows oxygen absorption and blood flow.  Maybe if they did a SPECT while someone was having an attack, but we all know that you can't sit still while having one...the MAJOR aspect of that test...staying still through the whole thing.

I think you should save your $3,000-$10,000

Just my [smiley=twocents.gif]

I listened to one of Dr. Amen's books (got it on CDs from the library). His ideas about there being several very different types of depression and anxiety based on which areas of the brain are misbehaving in SPECT and fMRI scans is very interesting - along with his ideas that the different types should be treated with different therapies.

As far as clusters goes, that type of investigation could pay off ... it might answer why some people are episodic and others are chronic, or might explain different constellations of cluster symptoms. But I don't know if Dr. Amen is pursuing that avenue of research, and if so, when it might yield dividends.