New signals found in the human brain may help treat migraines

Scientists have the brain has discovered a new pathway, which plays a role in the initiation of headaches. This is a development that Migraine New for the treatment of Medicines can lead to making

One in 10 people worldwide suffer from migraines. A quarter of patients also experience a similar sensory disturbance, including flashes of light, blind spots, tingling sensations and double vision, and these symptoms can appear five to 60 minutes before the headache.

It is known that a wave of suppression of brain activity is behind migraine, but the exact mechanism is still unknown.

The new study, published in the journal Science, describes how fluid flow in the brain and a propagating wave of signal disruptions trigger migraines.

Researchers at the University of Rochester in the United States say that these findings can serve as the basis for new drugs to treat migraines.

“These findings provide us with a number of new targets for the prevention and treatment of migraine and to improve existing treatments by reducing the activity of sensory nerves,” says study co-author Miken Nedergaard.

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Scientists know that these auras occur when oxygen levels in a part of the brain are reduced and blood flow is affected.

This occurs when brain cells are temporarily depolarized due to the release of charged molecules such as glutamate and potassium.

This disturbance can spread like a wave, and when it affects the brain’s visual processing center it causes visual symptoms such as aura to precede an oncoming headache.

The researchers discovered a new pathway through which these signals travel.

They hope that their discovery of how nerves are activated in this pathway might lead to new drug targets.

Another author of the study, Martin Kaag Rasmussen, said: ‘The molecules identified include molecules that have already been linked to migraines, but we need to know how and where the migraine-causing process occurs.’

Scientists hope that the newly identified potential drug targets may benefit a large number of patients who are unresponsive to available migraine treatments.