Migraine is a brain disease that affects neurons and its prevalence can reach 30% in women. Anxious and depressed personalities may also be more prone to it. Find explanations and advice from a neurologist.
“I have a migraine…” For 20% of French people, this is a reality that has nothing to do with a line from a boulevard theatre. “Migraine is a real neurological disease, the prevalence of which can actually reach 30% in women”, points out Claude Mekies, neurologist at the Cedars clinic in Cornebarrieu (Haute-Garonne). If in the collective unconscious, it is commonplace to have a headache, migraine is nevertheless a disease of the brain which affects the neurons. In case of migraine, the hyper excitable nerve cell membrane releases serotonin which gives all the neurological symptoms of migraine.
Effective treatments exist
Migraine is one of the primary headaches but is characterized by specific symptoms. The crisis may only affect one side of the skull, it is then half cranial, with a throbbing headache, which evokes a beating of the heart. Its moderate to severe intensity can be aggravated by physical exertion. An established migraine lasts more than four or five hours and less than seventy-two hours. It may be accompanied by nausea and intolerance to noise or light.
“If women are more prone to migraine, this is also the case for anxious and depressed personalities, even if it is not systematic. Studies on the subject have shown that more than 50% of migraine sufferers have an anxious tendency and depressive”, points out the neurologist. Depression itself can generate tension headaches, but they can be intertwined with migraine. If the disease becomes disabling by its frequency – several times a week – or by high intensity, it is necessary to consult. Neurological management is comprehensive and effective drugs exist. This is the class derived from triptans, molecules that act on serotonin and block the crisis. Used in background treatment, antiepileptics also stabilize the membrane at the origin of the migraine. Finally, injectable monoclonal antibodies prevent seizures but they are not yet reimbursed.
