Mirror Lights: Study finds how neurological symptoms associated with aura, migraine
For the first time, new research explains the relationship between the neurological symptoms of aura and the ensuing migraine, elucidating how a brain fluid flow disruption and a spreading wave of disruption cause headaches. New proteins uncovered in the study may also be the basis for future migraine medications since they may be the cause of headaches.
The findings of the study appeared in the journal Science.
“In this study, we describe the interaction between the central and peripheral nervous system brought about by increased concentrations of proteins released in the brain during an episode of spreading depolarization, a phenomenon responsible for the aura associated with migraines,” said Maiken Nedergaard, MD, DMSc, co-director of the University of Rochester Center for Translational Neuromedicine and lead author of the new study.
“These findings provide us with a host of new targets to suppress sensory nerve activation to prevent and treat migraines and strengthen existing therapies.”
It is estimated that one out of 10 people experience migraines and in about a quarter of these cases theheadache is preceded by an aura, a sensory disturbance that can includes light flashes, blind spots, double vision, and tingling sensations or limb numbness.
These symptoms typically appear five to 60 minutes prior to the headache.
The cause of the aura is a phenomenon called cortical spreading depression, a temporary depolarization of neurons and other cells caused by diffusion of glutamate and potassium that radiates like a wave across the brain, reducing oxygen levels and impairing blood flow. Most frequently, the depolarization event is located in the visual processing center of the brain cortex, hence the visual symptoms that first herald a coming headache.
The findings of the study appeared in the journal Science.
“In this study, we describe the interaction between the central and peripheral nervous system brought about by increased concentrations of proteins released in the brain during an episode of spreading depolarization, a phenomenon responsible for the aura associated with migraines,” said Maiken Nedergaard, MD, DMSc, co-director of the University of Rochester Center for Translational Neuromedicine and lead author of the new study.
“These findings provide us with a host of new targets to suppress sensory nerve activation to prevent and treat migraines and strengthen existing therapies.”
It is estimated that one out of 10 people experience migraines and in about a quarter of these cases the
These symptoms typically appear five to 60 minutes prior to the headache.
The cause of the aura is a phenomenon called cortical spreading depression, a temporary depolarization of neurons and other cells caused by diffusion of glutamate and potassium that radiates like a wave across the brain, reducing oxygen levels and impairing blood flow. Most frequently, the depolarization event is located in the visual processing center of the brain cortex, hence the visual symptoms that first herald a coming headache.
