Migraines are intense headaches that give people throbbing pain that primarily affects one side of their head. In addition to the headaches, people may experience nausea and light-headedness as well as becoming extremely sensitive to light and sound. Moreover, these migraine attacks typically last for hours or days, and their severe pain can negatively impact productivity in daily life.
Unfortunately, research regarding migraines is still inconclusive, which plays a huge role in why they are mostly untreated and undiagnosed. Nevertheless, people should still seek out medical help if they need it. Although migraines are currently misunderstood, people should still make appointments with their healthcare provider, especially if they notice a pattern or if the headaches become more painful.
The Four-Stage Process of Migraines
Contrary to popular belief, migraines are way more complex than what was originally believed. In fact, there are four different stages that people with migraines may go through consisting of prodrome, aura, attack, and post-drome.
The prodrome focuses on changes in the body that usually happen days before migraines happen. These changes can be as subtle as excessive yawning and food cravings or as extreme as constipation and fluid retention.
During the migraine, people can experience a visible aura causing various problems with vision. These visual problems consist of seeing bright spots and light flashes that build up gradually and can last up to an hour. In the attack stage, migraines can typically last up to three days, sporadically and repeatedly, depending on the individual.
Lastly, the post-drome stage happens after the migraine passes. In this final stage, people who overcome their migraine attack may be feeling drained or in a daze immediately afterward. Subsequently, these individuals may experience brief bouts of pain from sudden head movements.
Studying Mice Leads to a Potential Cure
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Preceding the migraine, around one-third of those who experience the headaches will see an aura that blurs the vision. This shimmering of light these people see is caused by abnormal brain activities spreading through the brain’s outer layer or the cortex. So, how are these auras happening? Sadly, scientists are still searching for answers on how migraines impact pain-sensing receptors in the brain.
Specifically, the blood-brain barrier protects the central nervous system by blocking potentially harmful pathogens and other substances from entry. In addition to the blood-brain barrier, the spinal cord is surrounded by its own barrier called the blood-spinal card barrier, which also prevents harmful molecules from passing through in a way similar to its counterpart previously mentioned.
According to researchers from both Rigshospitalet and Bispegjerg Hospitals and the University of Copenhagen, they may have uncovered answers in their studies. From their research conducted on mice, it’s shown that proteins released during a migraine and aura carry cerebrospinal fluid that triggers pain-signaling nerves inducing headaches.
Comparatively, the pathways found in mice are in humans as well and work similarly by carrying proteins within the cerebrospinal fluid. Although researchers worked with mice, their inclusion of MR scans of the trigeminal ganglion within humans makes sense in determining how these pathways cause these painful headaches.
More About Pathway Inducing Migraines
These researchers discovered that the proteins responsible for migraines would activate sensory nerve cells gathered on the outer layers of the skull. This layer believed to be the trigeminal ganglion is the pathway to the skull’s peripheral sensory nervous system.
Surprisingly, researchers also discovered that the barrier usually around the peripheral nerves is absent in humans, allowing entry of harmful substances. Due to this missing barrier, these substances can enter and impact the pain-signalling sensory nerves causing migraines and possibly other headache diseases as well.
Mainly, the peripheral nervous system contains every nerve fiber responsible for communication in the central nervous system. In short, this communication happens between the spinal cord and brain concerning the organs, skin, and muscles. Likewise, the sensory nervous system which communicates pain information is also impacted.
Furthermore, the study explains why migraines are mostly one-sided, which has been the biggest question among scientists. With the discovery of this signaling pathway in the brain, researchers figured out that most of these substances don’t enter the intracranial space but instead gather in the sensory system, producing these one-sided headaches.
The Proteins Behind Migraine Attacks
Ultimately, scientists use innovative, analytical techniques to detect various proteins within blood samples. For instance, researchers were able to analyze groups of these substances released during the aura stage preceding a migraine attack as it’s during the aura portion that disturbances are most visible.
Within these groups of proteins, researchers found CGRP which is a protein with ties to migraines and is used primarily in already established treatments. Alongside CGRP, researchers have discovered other proteins that can potentially lead to new treatment methods. What’s more? Researchers have even discovered proteins that induce menstrual migraines, specifically.
Currently, researchers are working to identify proteins that can trigger migraines, as they hope to conduct provocation tests on humans. In their studies, these researchers aim to trigger migraine attacks in people through the exposure of these specific proteins. If the researchers do uncover these migraine-inducing proteins, then they’d be able to improve prevention and treatment methods overall.
This article is intended simply to provide information. It is not intended to replace advice from a physician. Please speak to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns.
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