Migraines: Of Mice and Men and Women
Migraines are severe headaches often accompanied by nausea, sensitivity to sound and light, and aura.
An aura is a perceived sensory disturbance such as an unpleasant smell, a strange light, or confusing thoughts.
Women suffer from migraines more than men by a margin of 3 to 1.
Why such a large difference? Research in recent years using a "mouse model" is beginning to answer that question.
Of Mice and CSD A few years ago, researchers at the UCLA Department of Neurology used mice to study a phenomenon called cortical spreading depression (CSD), which has been suspected as a major cause of migraines.
During the course of their experiments, they found a large difference between males and females in the triggering of CSD.
In years past, migraines were thought to be caused mainly by the constriction and dilation of blood vessels, but more recently it has come to light that brain excitability is probably more the culprit.
As a result of a variety of modern neuro-imaging techniques, cortical spreading depression has been found in patients with migraines.
CSD, as it is often called, consists of pronounced waves of activity that spread across the brain's surface.
These waves are suspected not only of causing migraine pain, but also of triggering nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, and auras.
Results for Men and Women Regarding findings, Dr.
Charles from UCLA said, "The strength of the stimulus required to trigger CSD in males was up to two or three times higher than that required to trigger the response in females.
" Which implies that women are more likely to get migraines than men by a similar margin.
The reasons for this "intrinsic excitability," as quoted from Dr.
Charles, were not given, but it does suggest that because of it, women are more susceptible to getting migraines.
The study also found various factors that may lessen the CSD threshold in males and females, which would make them more likely to get a migraine.
These included dietary choices, stress levels, sleeping patterns, environmental triggers, and hormonal changes.
The difference between threshold levels for males and females was consistent throughout the study.
More Study Needed While the findings are promising to Dr.
Charles and his colleagues, they also acknowledge the need for more and larger studies to confirm their research.
They believe their results may provide a way to understand the mechanisms beneath the increased incidences of migraine headaches in women.
An aura is a perceived sensory disturbance such as an unpleasant smell, a strange light, or confusing thoughts.
Women suffer from migraines more than men by a margin of 3 to 1.
Why such a large difference? Research in recent years using a "mouse model" is beginning to answer that question.
Of Mice and CSD A few years ago, researchers at the UCLA Department of Neurology used mice to study a phenomenon called cortical spreading depression (CSD), which has been suspected as a major cause of migraines.
During the course of their experiments, they found a large difference between males and females in the triggering of CSD.
In years past, migraines were thought to be caused mainly by the constriction and dilation of blood vessels, but more recently it has come to light that brain excitability is probably more the culprit.
As a result of a variety of modern neuro-imaging techniques, cortical spreading depression has been found in patients with migraines.
CSD, as it is often called, consists of pronounced waves of activity that spread across the brain's surface.
These waves are suspected not only of causing migraine pain, but also of triggering nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, and auras.
Results for Men and Women Regarding findings, Dr.
Charles from UCLA said, "The strength of the stimulus required to trigger CSD in males was up to two or three times higher than that required to trigger the response in females.
" Which implies that women are more likely to get migraines than men by a similar margin.
The reasons for this "intrinsic excitability," as quoted from Dr.
Charles, were not given, but it does suggest that because of it, women are more susceptible to getting migraines.
The study also found various factors that may lessen the CSD threshold in males and females, which would make them more likely to get a migraine.
These included dietary choices, stress levels, sleeping patterns, environmental triggers, and hormonal changes.
The difference between threshold levels for males and females was consistent throughout the study.
More Study Needed While the findings are promising to Dr.
Charles and his colleagues, they also acknowledge the need for more and larger studies to confirm their research.
They believe their results may provide a way to understand the mechanisms beneath the increased incidences of migraine headaches in women.
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