July Member Spotlight: Manuel Vides-Rosales, MD

Manuel Vides-Rosales shares the importance of information accessibility

This month, we are spotlighting Manuel Vides-Rosales, MD, a member of the American Headache Society whose work is focused on pediatric care and language accessibility.

Vides-Rosales first became interested in migraine and headache during his pediatric residency, when he began experiencing headache. “I have experienced firsthand the impact of headache, which has helped me understand the burden,” he says. “It affects your family time and your daily activities, not only at work and studying but everything.”

After working in the neurodevelopmental field for more than 15 years, Vides-Rosales changed course to focus on neurology in an effort to make an impact on migraine and headache disorders. “We need to make a change for those living with migraine and headache, and we shouldn’t wait for the change to happen itself,” said Vides-Rosales.

Vides-Rosales is involved in many organizations aimed at improving the lives of headache patients, specifically children. His affiliations include the Pediatric Society of El Salvador, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Child Neurology Society, European Pediatric Neurology Society and the International Headache Society.

An AHS member since 2018, Vides-Rosales is a member of the Underserved Populations in Headache Medicine and the Pediatric-Adolescent Headache Special Interest Sections.

“Within the Pediatric-Adolescent Section, we are trying to bring patients more up-to-date knowledge about pediatric approaches to migraine,” said Vides-Rosales. “With the Underserved Populations Section, we are trying to bring more resources to the Hispanic population, which may have limitations when it is trying to get more information in English.”

To Vides-Rosales, migraine and headache are a challenge and an opportunity. “We know that the Hispanic population is not able to obtain up-to-date treatment and assessment for migraine and headache disorders,” he said. “That’s why I consider it a challenge.”

The opportunity, according to Vides-Rosales, is for physicians to make a difference not only in the lives of their patients but also in the understanding and knowledge of the primary care physicians who help treat headache and migraine patients.

“We can educate our professional peers so they are more aware of what is happening with headache and migraine,” said Vides-Rosales. “They will be more willing to refer patients when they are detecting early what is happening. This will make a huge difference in the lives of patients.”

Vides-Rosales increased the Hispanic community’s access to migraine information by hosting the first of a series of Spanish webinars through the American Migraine Foundation. In “Prevención de la Migraña,” he explained self-care practices for migraine prevention. He has also assisted AMF by translating resources and webpages into Spanish, and is collaborating with other members of the Underserved Populations Section on this initiative to expand patient access. Vides-Rosales plans to continue working with AMF moving forward.

“Working with AMF helped me understand that we do not need to reinvent what is already being done; we just need to improve the outreach to share resources we already have,” said Vides-Rosales.

As patients receive the resources they need to manage their migraine or headache, Vides-Rosales finds their relief as proof that he’s doing work that matters. “Noticing that patients or their parents are seeing their lives improve, that’s the most rewarding aspect of my career,” he said. “It’s powerful to know that we’re making a difference in the lives of patients.”

About Manuel Vides-Rosales

Name: Manuel Vides-Rosales, MD

AHS Membership: Member since 2018

Primary: Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Universidad Dr. José Matías Delgado in El Salvador

Quote: Headache and migraine are worldwide problems, and we need to approach them in a global manner. Patients need to have someone that listens, understands and will bring up-to-date assessment and treatment.

Las cefaleas y las migrañas son problemas a nivel mundial y necesitamos abordarlos en una forma global. Los pacientes necesitan a alguien que escuche, entienda y pueda brindar una evaluación y tratamiento actualizados.