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Individuals who have had multiple Covid-19 infections appear prone to contracting Long Covid, which may include symptoms such as fatigue, respiratory distress and mental fog.

Study published in The Lancet provides a basis for investigating Long Covid in the post-pandemic era

A new study that identified 475 patients with post-acute sequelae of Covid-19 (PASC), also known as Long Covid, revealed that nearly 85 percent (403) of these patients had multiple Covid-19 infections over the course of a four-year period (March 2020 to February 2024). Additionally, vaccination independently reduced the risk of Long Covid in patients who had received the vaccination prior to contracting the infection.

Conducted by a team of researchers at the Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) at Stony Brook University, in conjunction with the Stony Brook World Trade Center (WTC) Health and Wellness Program, the study may serve as a foundational assessment of Long Covid patients in the post-pandemic era. To date there are few studies with such a patient sample size that investigates what puts patients at risk for Long Covid and what causes this chronic condition.

The findings are published early online in the February edition of The Lancet Regional Health – Americas.

“While it is possible that the causes of Long Covid could be many and variable depending on the patient population studied, with this cohort the evidence is clear that by having Covid numerous times, patients became more at-risk for developing Long Covid,” says lead author Sean Clouston, PhD, Professor, Department of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine in the RSOM, and Program in Public Health.

He adds that after adjusting for relevant demographic, lifestyle, and clinical variables, the findings reveal a statistically significant association between experiencing multiple Covid-19 infections and the risk of experiencing PASC (aka Long Covid).

The patients were identified from a group of more than 2,500 first responders who previously had Covid and are prospectively monitored for infection complications by the Stony Brook WTC Health and Wellness Program. The 475 identified with Long Covid by the Program’s physicians, led by Benjamin Luft, MD, Director of the Program, continually experienced Long Covid symptoms ranging from fatigue, mental fog, other neurological conditions, as well as multiple respiratory problems and gastrointestinal symptoms.

Given that some of the first responder patients have had symptoms over the years related to their environmental exposures, such as respiratory illnesses, Long Covid symptoms were identified and charted separately and after each subsequent Covid infection.

Since there is no diagnostic test for Long Covid, the researchers followed the World Health Organization’s guidelines as to identifying Long Covid. They identified participants with Long Covid as having experienced the continuation or development of at least one new symptom that emerged within three months after their initial Covid-19 infection and persisted for at least two months without other concurrent medical explanation. In contrast, those without such experiences after having Covid were placed in the non-Long Covid group.

“There are some possible pathogenic mechanisms that cause Long Covid, but the entire spectrum of its risk factors remains unknown,” explains Dr. Luft, a co-author, the Edmund D. Pellegrino Professor of Medicine in the RSOM, and an infectious diseases specialist. “This is why our study and future ones are so important. Identifying specific risk factors such as re-infection or lack of vaccination can assist in better understanding and managing the condition.”

The authors point out that the safest way to avoid contracting Long covid is to prevent the infection in the first place. However, they emphasize that the role of vaccination in the risk of developing Long Covid cannot be underestimated. They wrote, “Among those who later developed PASC, we found that the risk of PASC was much higher among individuals who were unvaccinated at the time of their first (Covid-19) infection.”

Dr. Luft adds that the vaccine is imperfect, and of those who develop Covid – even though vaccinated – are at risk and should take measures to mitigate the severity of infection.

This research was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging (NIA) and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) – grants (NIH/NIA R01 AG049953), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – grants (CDC/NIOSH U01 OH011864) and (CDC/NIOSH U01 OH012275).

 

 

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By Daniel Dunaief

Close to six decades after another surgeon general urged a warning label about the link between cancer and smoking, Dr. Vivek Murthy, the current surgeon general, would like to add cancer warnings to labels for alcohol.

The third leading cause of preventable cancers after tobacco and obesity, alcohol increases the risk for at least seven types of cancer, the surgeon general recently wrote.

At the same time, less than half of the American population recognize alcohol as a risk factor for cancer.

As with the prevailing wisdom about smoking decades ago, several doctors and various studies have, until recently, indicated that moderate drinking such as a single glass of red wine for women each day and two glasses for men, have suggested a medical benefit to consuming alcohol.

Dr. Mark Solomon

“We have been misguided all these years by thinking there’s an acceptable amount of alcohol that’s safe enough to recommend,” said Dr. David Rivadeneira, Director of Northwell Health Cancer Institute at Huntington Hospital. 

Any change in required labels for alcohol would have to come from Congress, which would likely face lobbying pressure from the alcohol industry.

Local doctors, however, suggested that the potential increased risk of cancer from alcohol outweighs any potential reduction in the risk related to any cardiovascular incident or stroke.

Dr. Mark Solomon, medical director of St. Charles’ chemical dependency program, called the benefits of alcohol a “myth.”

“Anything you put in your body affects every cell in your body,” said Solomon. “It’s finally coming to the forefront that we should put labels [on alcohol]. Drinking alcohol is not some benign social activity. There are certain risks associated with that, with cancer being one of them.”

Paolo Boffetta, Associate Director for Population Sciences at the Stony Brook Cancer Center, explained that earlier studies, including one that he participated in, that showed a cardiovascular benefit to drinking had various scientific problems.

Those studies didn’t differentiate between people who quit drinking and those who never consumed alcohol.

“The category of a non drinker had an increased risk” that was above what researchers had understood because that group included a mix of people, Boffetta said.

This sampling problem suggested to Boffetta that the results of some of these studies that suggested a cardiovascular health benefit to drinking “were probably not correct.”

Boffetta, who welcomed Dr. Murthy’s recommendation to add cancer risk to a label that already warns consumers who are pregnant or who are operating a car or heavy machinery, urged researchers to continue to study the link between alcohol and cancer.

Protecting health

Dr. David Rivandeneira. Photo courtesy of Northwell Health

Dr. David Rivadeneira, director of Northwell Health Cancer Institute at Huntington who specializes in colorectal cancer, is concerned about the increased incidence of cancer among the younger population.

The current cancer rates are at levels “we’ve never seen before in patients that are less than 50 years old,” said Rivadeneira. “That is very worrisome. The issue of alcohol may have something to do with it.”

Indeed, during the worst of the lockdowns amid the Covid pandemic, some people increased their consumption of alcohol.

“Our current understanding is that alcohol is a chemical that probably has no health benefits whatsoever,” said Rivadeneira. “If anything, it’s detrimental even in small quantities.”

Rivadeneira anticipates the effect of such a discussion of the health consequences of consuming alcohol and of any future labeling on bottles may alter consumer behavior more rapidly than changes in established patterns for smoking decades ago.

“People are more likely to take ownership with regard to their own health,” he said. “They want to be healthier.”

Rivadeneira wants to give patients information that is appropriate and medically sound, giving them the option to decide if they want to incorporate this knowledge into their lifestyle.

Working with their doctors, people can decide on their overall risk profile, based on their family history, other health factors such as their weight and their history through cancer screenings such as mammographies, whether they want to reduce the kind of risk that might tip the scales through alcohol consumption, Rivadeneira said.

“I tell people, ‘You can be proactive or reactive. Here you are, you’ve got to make a decision about what you want to do. Do you want to reduce the chance of cancer and other ailments?’” Rivadeneira said.

A warning and behavior

Dr. Jana Deitch

Doctors believed a warning label on alcoholic products might alter consumer behavior.

“People are more afraid when it’s written down,” said Dr. Jana Deitch, breast surgical oncologist at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital in Smithtown. “If it’s on the bottle, the population will take it more seriously.”

Deitch added that everyone has to decide to what degree they are putting themselves at risk.

“It’s information that’s readily available to the general population” Deitch said.

Solomon suggested that doctors should educate their patients about the dangers of consuming alcohol.

“The medical community and physicians have to be more educated so they can start to relay this to the patient,” said Solomon. “There’ll be some kind of shock to this” because people will indicate that they have been drinking their whole lives. “It’s going to take a long time and it has to start with education from doctors.”

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Charlie Bruckenthal. Photo Credit: Stony Brook Medicine 
Samantha and Matthew Bruckenthal welcomed their son Charlie to the world on New Year’s Day at Stony Brook University Hospital.

Weighing 6 pounds, 4 ounces, the new baby boy was born at 3:16 a.m., just three hours into the start of 2025. Charlie was delivered by Leah Kaufman, MD, Eliza Hammes, RN, and Vanessa Boser, RN.

This is the first child for the couple who live in East Northport and the newborn is the grandson of Patricia Bruckenthal, the Dean of the School of Nursing at Stony Brook University.

 

 

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By Daniel Dunaief

Take small, manageable steps towards a healthier life in 2025.

That, among other things, is the advice of area doctors as residents transition from purchasing presents and making meals to writing lists of New Year’s resolutions about their mental and physical health.

“Scale down what you want to do to make it feasible,” said Dr. Raja Jaber, Medical Director of Lifestyle Programs at Stony Brook Medicine. “Don’t say you want to lose 50 pounds. It’s not going to happen. Do it step by step. Choose one or two things you want to change.”

Indeed, several local health care professionals urged people to consider setting goals that are not only achievable but can also offer residents the belief that they can continue building on their successes.

Creating smaller goals can help people “see successes more quickly and build up confidence in meeting those goals,” said Dr. Adam Gonzalez, Vice Chair of Behavioral Health and a psychologist at Stony Brook Medicine.

Gonzalez urged people to practice a relaxation response daily, where they focus on their breath, a positive image, or a word or a phrase.

For Gonzalez, the words that he uses are “persistence” and “perseverance,” which offer him encouragement to believe that things can and will get better.

Doctor visits

People who haven’t seen their doctors in a while, particularly parents who are more focused on the health of their children than on their own physical and mental health, should take the time to see a general practitioner and, if necessary, specialists.

Annual physicals provide doctors and their patients with the kinds of information that provide a baseline for how the body as a whole and specific organs like the heart, liver, and kidneys, are doing.

Dr. Erika Kalabacas, a primary care doctor with Northwell Health Physician Partners. Photo courtesy Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville

In some households, mothers dismiss any concerns about their own health, as they focus on their children, their spouse and extended family.

“They put their health last,” said Dr. Erika Kalabacas, a primary care doctor with Northwell Health Physician Partners in Huntington. “They should not be pushing everything off. They should be putting themselves first. If they feel well and are healthy, they can help those around them.”

Staples of good health include eating well, with reduces processed foods, exercising, staying hydrated, getting sunlight, which provides vitamin D, sleeping seven to eight hours and reducing stress, Kalabacas said.

Researchers have been studying what kind of exercise and diets might work for men and women.

While intermittent fasting can help women to some degree, it is not as effective as it is for men.

It’s better, Kalabacas suggested, for women to eat breakfast as a part of three balanced and nutritious meals each day, than to skip meals in the morning.

“I tell all my patients, the two biggest things you can do to help yourself, are to reduce alcohol intake and to eat breakfast,” she said.

Skipping breakfast often comes back to haunt people later in the day, as they binge eat foods later at night that can cause heartburn and affect their sleep.

In addition to caring for her patient’s physical health, Kalabacas and her partners ask questions through a PHQ-9, or Patient Health Questionnaire, which offers indications of depression.

Kalabacas has a therapist in her office, to whom she refers patients who need help with psychological issues.

Be kind to yourself

Medical Director of Lifestyle Programs at Stony Brook Medicine, Dr. Raja Jaber. Photo courtesy Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville

Jaber suggested that people be “gentle and kind” to themselves as they set goals for the new year, without feeling the need to judge themselves constantly.

Setting a goal of only eating healthy more often than not leads to failure and disappointment.

“Being 100 percent super committed to healthy choices is so impossible to follow,” said Jaber. “That’s how people fail.”

When residents resolve never to eat sweets again, they wind up succeeding for a while and then binge. Controlling a diet requires eating a smaller piece of cake and savoring every bite, she suggested.

Becoming healthier can start by working with a supportive group who can offer encouragement.

As people age, Jaber suggested that physical fitness is the “key to longevity” or to preventing disease.

Healthier lives often start by building in specific times when people can focus on their mental health, through mindfulness exercises, or physical health, by exercising.

Mind-body connection

Doctors recognize the connection between the health of our bodies and minds.

“We know our mental and physical health are directly connected and impact one another,” Gonzalez said.

The Stony Brook psychologist urged people to make genuine social connections and engage in healthy and enjoyable activities.

“We take for granted some of these strategies that we think everyone knows,” Gonzalez said. “We might not actually be putting them into practice.”

Citing decades of research on the health benefits of the relaxation response, Gonzalez urged people to listen to an album that brings them joy, watch a funny movie, take a hot bath with a lit candle, or any of an array of actions that improve their mental health.

Some residents may also need to connect with a health professional.

Gonzalez pointed to gold-medal winners such as gymnast Simone Biles and swimmer Michael Phelps, who have shared their mental health struggles and their ways of coping with them.

Practicing relaxation response helped these athletes regulate their emotions and control their mental state before engaging in competition.

Amid uncertainty around the globe and anxiety about the future, residents can benefit from focusing on their self care and their connectedness to people around them.

“We can control our presence in the community,” Gonzalez said. 

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Stony Brook, NY; Stony Brook University: Office of Emergency Management (OEM) toy drive. Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook Medicine
Stony Brook, NY; Stony Brook University: Office of Emergency Management (OEM) toy drive. Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook Medicine

The season of giving is in full swing at Stony Brook! Pediatric patients at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital got a special visit from not only Santa Claus himself but everyones favorite Snowman Olaf and Stony Brook’s own mascot Wolfie on December 12th, as they stopped by to deliver some holiday cheer.

A caravan of 30 first responder vehicles traveled from the Wang Center to the Children’s Hospital to drop off dozens of presents collected during their annual Holiday Toy Drive.

Since 2019, Stony Brook University’s Division of Enterprise Risk Management has teamed up with campus Fire, Police, EMS & Emergency Management staff to collect new and unwrapped gifts for patients spending the holidays in a patient room instead of home with family and friends.

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Front row, first from left: Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D-Stony Brook) surrounded by law enforcement officers. Top row, middle: Joan Alpers, the director of Child Life Services at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, and Landan Hoenig, founder of Teddies for Happiness. Photo by Toni-Elena Gallo

By Toni-Elena Gallo

Selden resident Landan Hoenig has always been an altruistic young man. 

When asked why Hoenig was interested in starting his two-year-old initiative Teddies for Happiness, his grandmother Christina Rundberg replied, “he has always been this way.”

“Landan is always getting involved with different things — very involved with our church when he was young. He’s just an all around good kid,” Rundberg continued.

A law enforcement agent unloading gifts from his vehicle, assisted by Stony Brook Children’s Hospital employees. Photo by Toni-Elena Gallo

This charity operation came to fruition in 2023, when Hoenig, a student at St. Joseph’s University who works as a traffic control officer for the Southampton Town Police Department, had interned with the Town Police in Spring of 2023 through the Suffolk County Community College Criminal Justice Program internship class, and was energized by his experience.

“Doing the internship with them and then getting a job as a traffic control officer with them, actually helped inspire me to create this event,” Hoenig said.

He originally planned to donate only teddy bears to Stony Brook Children’s Hospital but decided to expand the drive to include all types of toys when finalizing his idea. “I had only two months of prep time to put it all together. It was a very small turnout because, with two months, I really wasn’t sure what I was doing, but it was still very successful,” Hoenig explained.

Hoenig credits having a nine-month prepping period this time, helping make this year’s drive on a bigger scale.

“I knew what I was doing this time.”

In a similar format to 2023’s drive, Hoenig gathered the donated toys at a car show, this year held at the Levitt Ballfield Park in Centereach. Eighteen law enforcement agencies were involved in attracting attendees, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, National Park Service Law Enforcement Rangers, New York State Police and Stony Brook University Police Department, as opposed to last year’s two, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police and Centereach Fire Department. There with their service vehicles, they invited visitors to engage with them as well as listen to music with radio stations 106.1 WBLI and 102.3 WBAB, eat Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwiches and cookies, provided by the restaurant chain and, most importantly, donate toys.

 “About 150 to 200 people came, and I have eighteen boxes of toys. Half of them I put here at the hospital, and the other half I’m bringing to St. Cuthbert’s Episcopal Church in Selden, where they will be split up between the Saint Cuthbert’s Food Pantry and a local women’s shelter,” Hoenig said. The name of the shelter was not disclosed.

According to Councilmember Jonathan Kornreich (D, Stony Brook), while the Town of Brookhaven did co-sponsor the event and provided the car show’s venue, “all the credit for the hard work goes to Landan for his enormous time commitment in following up with all of these agencies.”

After numerous law enforcement agencies pulled up to Stony Brook Children’s Hospital on Friday, Dec. 6, including the Suffolk County Police Department and a van from the Suffolk County Sheriff’s office, numerous law enforcement agents unloaded their vehicles with the assistance of hospital volunteers.

Addressing the small crowd which gathered to assist and watch Hoenig carry out his mission to “provide joy to people no matter what type of situation they are in, even if it’s just a little bit of joy.” Hoenig thanked “not only the Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, but the great, amazing officers who want to help people. I cannot be more thankful, so thank you for being able to help me.’

“It was so fun organizing all of the boxes for two hours last night, because I am a last minute person,” he laughed.

Joan Alpers, director of Child Life Services at Stony Brook Medicine, was extremely grateful for Hoenig’s charitable spirit. “We are grateful for all of our main donors at this time of year, and he is one of our significant donors, and we’re happy to have him come back.”

“Thank you, I can’t wait to come back next year,” Hoenig smiled.

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Farzad Forohar, MD. Photo by Jeanne Neville/Stony Brook Medicine
Farzad Forohar, MD, and his practice, North Shore Digestive Medicine located at 50 Route 111, Suite #302 in Smithtown, have joined Stony Brook Medicine Community Medical Group, Stony Brook Medicine’s expanding network of community practices.

Dr. Forohar is a highly respected, board-certified gastroenterologist with more than 25 years of experience. He has been a dedicated healthcare provider to the Smithtown and surrounding communities, offering compassionate and comprehensive care to his patients.

“We are thrilled that Dr. Forohar has joined Stony Brook Medicine Community Medical Group,” said Dr. Olga Aroniadis, Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Stony Brook Medicine. “Dr. Forohar’s partnership enables Stony Brook Medicine Gastroenterology to continue to expand its footprint, allowing us to seamlessly service our community and provide exceptional care to our patients.”

Dr. Forohar received his medical degree from the University of Pécs Medical School in Pécs, Hungary. He then completed his internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York.

Reflecting on his journey, Dr. Forohar shared, “I have had the pleasure of living in and serving this community for the past 25 years. As my practice has grown and evolved, so has Stony Brook University. Becoming what it is today: a world-class hospital system. By joining Stony Brook Medicine, my patients’ needs are best served right here at home.”

Patients who wish to make an appointment with Farzad Forohar, MD, should call 631-724-5300.

 

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Debra Giugliano, RN, PhD. Photo by Jeanne Neville, Stony Brook Medicine

Debra Giugliano, RN, PhD, a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Stony Brook University School of Nursing, was recently selected by the State University of New York (SUNY) to be a member of the inaugural class of the SUNY Nursing Simulation Fellowship, an initiative for the 2024-25 academic year that will further advance all SUNY nursing programs to adopt simulation-based education for students.

Simulation training in Stony Brook’s School of Nursing is an integral aspect of clinical education in the future workforce. Photo by Jeanne Neville, Stony Brook Medicine

Announced by the SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr., the Fellowship is also part of a larger effort to prepare more nurses for New York State’s health care workforce – a major objective of Governor Kathy Hochul and SUNY. It was developed based on recommendations from the SUNY Future of Health Care Workforce Task Force, a group organized to guide SUNY in addressing the critical health care workforce shortage and Governor’s goal of increasing this workforce in NYS by 20 percent. Nursing simulation is one of four priority areas identified by the Task Force.

The 11 Fellows of the inaugural class will advance their knowledge and skills in simulation training by completing a six-month continuing education and simulation training program, attending monthly virtual meetings and in-person retreats on the topic led by SUNY, and attend the International Meeting on Simulation Healthcare from January 10-14 in Orlando, Fla.

As of May 2023, SUNY nursing students can complete as much as one-third of their clinical training through simulation education.

“We are excited for the School of Nursing and for Dr. Giugliano with her selection for this inaugural Nursing Simulation Fellowship,” said Pat Bruckenthal, RN, PhD, Dean of the Stony Brook University School of Nursing. “This opportunity will enable Dr. Giugliano to bring our student learning experiences to the forefront of innovation and impact the preparation of our next generation of nurse leaders.”

A long-time clinician and educator in the School of Nursing and a resident of St. James, Giugliano is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner and pediatric oncology nurse. Her clinical specialties include caring for children with cancer and blood disorders in both inpatient and outpatient settings. The recipient of numerous awards in nursing clinical care and training, Giugliano is also the Founder and Director of the internationally recognized School Intervention and Reentry Program at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.

“I am honored to have been chosen for this Fellowship and look forward to gaining the necessary expertise to elevate nursing simulation and create a nursing simulation network within SUNY,” said Giugliano.

She and other fellows will have the unique opportunity to shape the future of simulation-based learning across the SUNY system. Through their expertise, they will contribute to the development of the SUNY Simulation Shared Resource Library, a central repository of nursing simulation resources that will benefit nursing education programs system-wide.

 

 

Captions:

Simulation training in Stony Brook’s School of Nursing is an integral aspect of clinical education in the future workforce.

Credit: Jeanne Neville, Stony Brook Medicine

 

Debra Giugliano, RN, PhD

Credit: Jeanne Neville, Stony Brook Medicine

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METRO photo

By Daniel Dunaief

They don’t always follow the same path with any two sufferers, but people who have migraines can and often do find themselves with symptoms including head pain, discomfort, numbness and nausea that make working, caring for family members or functioning difficult.

Dr. Sharon Nachman. Courtesy Stony Brook Medicine Facebook page

Among the first symptoms listed when COVID-19 became a pandemic in 2020, headaches can and have become more severe for people who become infected and then endure additional symptoms in the ensuing weeks and months.

People with migraines often suffer from a throbbing headache, nausea, sensitivity to light and loud noises that worsen with movement.

The other associated features can be “just as disabling as the pain,” said Dr. Noah Rosen, director of the Headache Program for Northwell Health. “Now that we see some of the symptoms cross over with long COVID symptoms, that becomes more salient.”

At this point, amid anecdotal evidence of migraines and long COVID, health care providers can’t say conclusively whether an infection with the current strain of the virus presents any more risk of developing migraines sometime after an infection than they were with earlier strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

“There’s no central reporting of symptoms,” said Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. “If you get a vaccine and you have an adverse event, you can report it. There’s no such thing for long COVID.”

Indeed, with people continuing to pass along the virus in schools, workplaces, crowded subways and other places where people gather in confined indoor spaces, the long COVID population has “overtaken any ability to track those symptoms,” Nachman said.

Nachman added that migraines could be a symptom of something else.

“It’s hard to say a true cause and effect” with regard to a particular symptom, as some immune systems may have such a strong response that they are creating autoimmune problems.

Migraines are also seen in patients with autoimmune diseases, Nachman said.

For some patients, doctors may want to do a full immune workup to make sure they are not having an autoimmune reaction.

As for long COVID symptoms, people “across the board” are developing various maladies after contracting the illness that caused the pandemic, Nachman said.

While it’s unclear at this point whether migraines or other specific symptoms increase amid the current strain of long COVID, doctors urged people who have underlying medical conditions to get tested when they develop symptoms.

“Fewer people are actually treating the acute phase,” said Rosen. “There was some evidence that early treatment with Paxlovid can reduce the risk of long-term COVID.”

Indeed, people in high-risk groups can lower the chance of dealing with additional symptoms, called sequelae, after an initial infection.

Treatments

While numerous treatments are approved for migraines, it is unclear which might be best for people who develop these extreme and potentially debilitating headaches in the aftermath of COVID.

“Many of the new treatments haven’t been specifically looked at for post-COVID” migraines, said Rosen.

Migraines can become enough of an interruption to daily life that people alter their behaviors in between episodes, during the so-called interictal period.

Even without the pain, migraine sufferers can avoid activities because they are afraid of a trigger.

This can affect people’s social interactions or their job choices, among other decisions.

“If people are noting that they are unable to do things that they were doing before or are avoiding certain tasks, they need to step up in treatment,” said Rosen.

In terms of treating migraines, Rosen suggested that beneficial pharmacological options, such as triptans, have been around since the 1990s.

Triptans are a group of medicines that treat migraines by changing how blood circulates in the brain and how the brain processes pain signals, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Rosen said Imitrex and Maxalt are used to treat migraines during the mild phase.

“Early treatment can lead to shorter symptoms or less medicine being used and less disability,” Rosen said.

The average migraine lasts about four hours. A migraine that lasts more than 72 hours is described as “migrainosis,” which can be disabling and can require a combination of medications.

People can reduce the risk of migraines through some lifestyle modifications, such as ensuring sufficient hydration, not skipping meals, getting regular sleep, avoiding stress or engaging in behaviors that improve resilience to stress, and exercise, Rosen said.

Migraines affect about 12 percent of the population. Additionally, anyone with a migraine has about a 70 percent chance of having a first-degree relative — a parent, sibling or child — who also has migraines, according to Rosen.

Researchers have identified over 40 genes associated with migraines, which makes determining a specific genetic link complex, Rosen said.

With a link between migraines and hormones, women suffer from them at about a three-to-one ratio to men.

Other triggers

Migraine sufferers often try to identify triggers that can bring on these painful and disturbing episodes that can cause fatigue and discomfort even after the episodes end.

Many people are sensitive to environmental changes, like low barometric pressure from storms or excessive changes in temperature.

All of those are increasing amid climate change, which has had a significant effect on migraine sufferers, Rosen said.

Obesity, which is a health issue for the country, can also affect migraines.

“That places an additional burden on the health of people who suffer” from migraines, said Rosen.

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Dr. Konstantinos Spaniolas. Photo by Jeanne Neville/Stony Brook Medicine
Dr. Dara Brener. Photo by Jeanne Neville/Stony Brook Medicine
Dr. Lara DeSanti-Siska. Photo by Tanya Mallot/Stony Brook Medicine

Stony Brook Medicine (SBM) has announced several leadership changes within Stony Brook Community Medical (SBCM) and Meeting House Lane (MHL), effective November 1.

Following Dr. William Wertheim’s promotion to Executive Vice President of Health Sciences and Stony Brook Medicine a new President of SBCM needed to be identified. Under Dr. Wertheim’s leadership, Stony Brook Medicine is committed to improving integration across its healthcare system. Therefore, the leadership team has strategically unified the roles of President of SBCM and MHL under one leader, as well as integrated the operational leadership of both SBCM and MHL. Dr. Konstantinos Spaniolas, Chief of the Division of Bariatric, Foregut and Advanced GI Surgery at Stony Brook Medicine and Director of the Stony Brook Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss Center, will serve as the next President of SBCM and MHL. To support Dr. Spaniolas in his dual role, Dr. Dara Brener will be elevated to Medical Director of SBCM, and Dr. Lara DeSanti-Siska will serve as the Medical Director of MHL.

For operations, Jennifer Crema, the Executive Director of Stony Brook Administrative Services (SBAS), will be promoted to the Executive Director of SBAS and MHL.

After serving as President of MHL, Dr. John Patrick Reilly will be appointed the Director of East End Cardiology Development, where he will lead efforts to shepherd new and innovative cardiac services for the East End of Long Island.

“It is my privilege to work alongside so many dedicated healthcare professionals,” says William A. Wertheim, MD, MBA, Executive Vice President for Stony Brook Medicine. “Their continued efforts in expanding Stony Brook Medicine’s reach through Stony Brook Community Medical and Meeting House Lane clinical practices ensures the healthcare needs of our patients across Long Island are met. I thank Dr. Reilly for his leadership of MHL, and I congratulate Dr. Spaniolas on assuming the role as President of the SBCM and MHL. I also congratulate Drs. Brener and DeSanti-Siska on their new roles. We have very good times ahead for MHL and SBCM.”

“Congratulations to each team member on their new roles within Stony Brook Medicine,” said Carol A. Gomes, MS, FACHE, CPHQ, Chief Executive Officer at Stony Brook University Hospital. “We are fortunate to have an exceptional staff who support Stony Brook’s mission to set the standard for how healthy communities thrive.”

 

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