Placebos and Nocebos in Headaches

Prof Mitsikostas graduated from the Aristotele University Medical School, Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1985; he obtained his PhD degree in experimental neuropharmacology from the National & Kapodistrian University, Athens, Greece; and he certified in neurology, in 1993 (Aeginition Hospital, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens). He has pursued postdoc studies in experimental molecular pharmacology of pain at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA (1996-1998, Professor M.A. Moskowitz’s laboratory) and at the Institute of Neurology, University College London, UK (2000-2001, Professor P.J. Goadsby’s laboratory and Headache Clinic). He served at and directed the Neurology Department of the Athens Naval Hospital from 2001 until May 2016. He is an associate professor of neurology at Aeginition Hospital, heading the Unit A and the Headache Out Patient Clinic of the 1st Neurology Department. He also teaches medical students, neurology residents and fellows. His clinical work is focused on headache, multiple sclerosis, pain and nocebo and he has lectured nationally and internationally on these topics.He continues to work on animal models for cephalic pain and multiple sclerosis, and participates in several multi-center clinical trials. He is author of more than 100 peer-reviewed papers with more than 7,000 citations (h-index 31), editor/co-editor of eight textbooks and reviewer and/or member of the advisory board of numerous peer-reviewed international medical journals. He is member of several national and international societies and Fellow in the European Academy of Neurology. Prof Mitsikostas is currently president of the Hellenic Headache Society (2015-2018 and 2018-2021) and past president of the executive board of the European Headache Federation (2014-2016).