Archive for February, 2010
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Some migraines can be indicative of a more serious medical condition. Here is a list of symptoms that would necessitate a visit to a doctor:
- A very sudden headache that gets progressively worse, and may include nausea, vomiting or dizziness (may be caused by a stroke).
- A spontaneous headache that is worse than any other headache (may be caused by an aneurysm).
- Terrible headaches that start after age 50.
- Headaches that are followed by impaired memory or balance, dizziness, numbness or tingling in extremities (may be caused by a stroke).
- Headaches that get worse with coughing or sneezing (may be an infection in the brain).
- Headache that sets in following an injury to the head (may be caused by a hemorrhage).
- Headaches that are present simultaneously with a fever (may be caused by spinal meningitis).
- A pulsating pain around the eye that may spread to the ear or neck and is not alleviated by pain medication (may indicate a blood clot).
Those who suffer from migraines may benefit from Migravent, a dietary supplement made specifically for migraines.
Tags: condition, headache, Headaches, list, Migraine, Migraines, migrane, migranes, nausea vomiting, Pain, pain medication, serious medical condition, sudden headache, tingling in extremities, visit
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Monday, February 15th, 2010
Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine conducted a study of migraine sufferers (Neurology; February 2010). Questionnaires were given to over 6,000 people with migraines and over 5,000 people without. The results indicated a strong correlation between migraines and cardiovascular risk.
Richard B. Lipton and his colleagues found that those who suffered from aura (visual hallucinations) and migraines were three times as likely to experience heart attacks as those without migraines. Furthermore, migraine sufferers were more likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, all of which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
One of the implications of this study is that doctors need to be aware of a migraine sufferer’s potential health risks, not only quality of life issues.
Tags: Migraine, migraine and aura, Migraine and cardiovascular disease, migraine and cholesterol, migraine and diabetes, migrane, migranes, Migranes and heart attack
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Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
An article in Scientific American (August 2008) attempts to explain the causes of migraines.
People who are prone to migraines may think that they are caused by stress, menstruation, sleep deprivation, exercise, etc. But, these same triggers don’t cause migraines in the majority of the population.
It was believed that a decrease in blood flow causes a migraine. New research, however, shows that immediately prior to the onset of a migraine, blood flow is increased by 300 percent. When the migraine occurs, surprisingly, there is a normal blood flow. Does this increased blood flow cause the migraine?
Studies of the aura condition which presents itself prior to the onset of migraines has given scientists a better understanding of migraines. Cortical spreading depression creates this aura. Cortical spreading depression is a minefield of nerve cell activity that occurs in the outer layer of the cortex, in the area of the brain that controls vision. (This would explain the aura.) This is followed by a resting phase of the neurons.
Area of cortex that controls vision:
It is possible that the increase in blood flow prior to a migraine is necessary to provide the neurons with the energy they need to fire off signals.
Nerve cell activity is maintained by the flow of sodium, potassium and calcium ions across the nerve cell membrane. The gatekeepers of these ions are pumps. Basically, the pumps make sure that a nerve cell at rest has a large amount potassium, but low amounts of sodium and calcium.
In a migraine sufferer, the pumps and channels are defective. Scientists have isolated three genetic mutations that are each capable of being responsible for causing migraines.
Even so, genetics alone do not account for migraines. There are studies of identical twins where one twin will suffer from migraines and the other will not.
We are the manufacturers of Migravent, a dietary supplement that contains magnesium. According to PubMed, studies have shown the effectiveness of magnesium in calming the hyperactive nerve cells of migraine sufferers.
Tags: cause migraine, causes migraine, causes migraines, causing migraines, migraine cause, migraine causes, migraine causing
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Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
A migraine is a neurological condition characterized by severe headaches. The word migraine comes from the Old French word migraigne. This French term is based on the Late Latin word hemicrania, which originates from the Greek work hemikrania. The Greek word is a combination of “half” and “skull”.
Most people will search for information on migraines using Google as their primary search engine. According to statistics by Google, over 1, 500,000 people each month search for information using the term “migraine.” Other search terms used include “migraine headache,” which is searched by 135,000 people each month.
Interesting combinations of words are also searched on Google, too. These word groupings include “migraine treatments” (searched by 4,400 each month), “ocular migraine” (searched by 22,000 monthly) and “menstrual migraine” (6,600 monthly).
Sometimes the word “migraine” is misspelled. This results in some very creative ways that information is searched in Google. For example, the misspelled word “migrane” is searched by 74,000 individuals each month! Another form of the same word is “migranes,” which is searched by 27,000 people each month.
We are the manufacturers of Migravent, a dietary supplement that benefits people with migraines.
Tags: Migraines, migrane, migrane and headache, migrane and headaches, migranes
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Monday, February 1st, 2010
A study performed by scientists at the Jefferson Headache Center of Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience highlights the prevalence of cutaneous allodynia. This is a condition which makes people experience pain as a result of light touch, which is also common in people with migraine pain.
This study was done on 41 patients who experienced either chronic or episodic headaches. The researchers took a gauze pad and lightly brushed it over the patients’ foreheads, necks and forearms. Half of these reported feeling pain when their foreheads were gently brushed with the gauze pad, a telltale sign of allodynia.
Hopefully, this study will lead to a better understanding of cluster headaches and migraine pain.
Tags: allodynia, cutaneous allodynia, migraine and allodynia, migraine and pain, migraine pain, migraines and pain
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