A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (June, 24, 2009) shows that migraine headaches can cause brain lesions later on in life.

Migraines are severe headaches accompanied by sensitivity to light or sound, and often nausea or vomiting. Women are affected with migraines four times more often than men.

Some people who have migraines experience an aura beforehand. It is believed that a decrease in blood flow to the brain causes this. This aura is a visual disturbance, which makes a person see circles, squares, jagged lines or an alteration of things he sees.

A new study was done by the National Institute on Aging (of the U.S. National Institutes of Health). This study was based on data obtained from the Icelandic Heart Association, who interviewed 4,689 people for headaches.

Those reporting two or more headaches per month were asked to give details about their migraine symptoms.

Approximately twenty-five years later, these same individuals were questioned again, and were subjected to MRI scans of the brain. It was found that 17% of women had migraine headaches, compared to only 6% of men. Furthermore, the MRI scans showed that there were more women with lesions on the cerebellum of the brain than men. Women with aura were even more likely to have lesions.

A lesion is defined as tissue which has died as a result of a decrease in the supply of oxygen to the area, possibly due to a disruption of blood flow.

This study demonstrates the need for further research to determine the consequences of these lesions, and the need for migraine prevention.

Our product, Migravent, is a dietary supplement used by many of our customers to help prevent migraines.