Researchers discover potential brain signal to alleviate migraines

Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter to receive a full digest of all the best opinions of the week in our Voices Dispatches email. Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery of a new brain pathway that plays a key role in triggering headaches. This advancement in knowledge could potentially lead to the development of new drugs for the treatment of migraines.

Migraines affect about one in 10 people worldwide, with a quarter of patients experiencing sensory disturbances like auras before the onset of a headache. Auras are characterized by symptoms such as light flashes, blind spots, tingling sensations, and double vision, which can precede the headache by five to 60 minutes. While it has been understood that a wave of brain activity suppression is involved in migraines, the specific mechanism has remained elusive until now.

Published in the journal Science, a new study conducted by researchers from the University of Rochester in the US reveals how fluid flow in the brain and a spreading wave of signal disruption are responsible for triggering migraines and inducing auras. The researchers believe that these findings could lay the groundwork for the development of a new class of migraine drugs that target the suppression of sensory nerve activation to prevent and treat migraines.

Studies have demonstrated that auras are caused by reduced oxygen levels and impaired blood flow in a particular part of the brain. When brain cells are temporarily depolarized due to the diffusion of charged molecules like glutamate and potassium, these disruptions can spread like a wave. If this wave affects the brain’s vision processing center, it can lead to visual symptoms like the aura that precede a headache.

Researchers have identified a new pathway through which these signals travel. By understanding how nerves in this pathway are activated, they hope to pinpoint new drug targets for the treatment of migraines. According to study co-author Martin Kaag Rasmussen, the identification of molecules already associated with migraines but not their exact location or mechanism of action has paved the way for potential drug development.

The newly discovered potential drug targets hold promise for the large number of migraine patients who do not respond to current therapies. These findings provide hope for more effective treatments that may help alleviate the suffering of those affected by migraines.