Link discovered between migraines and this nervous system disorder
Migraines affect approximately 10 percent of the global population, making these debilitating headaches among the top 20 disabling medical illnesses in the world. While triggers…
New study links migraines and Parkinson’s disease. (Shutterstock)
Migraines affect approximately 10 percent of the global population, making these debilitating headaches among the top 20 disabling medical illnesses in the world. While triggers for migraines vary from person to person and the exact cause of this issue is unknown, researchers have found a link between migraines and another debilitating disorder?Parkinson’s disease.
This is not the first time migraines have been linked to a serious illness.
Previous studies have found correlations between migraines and stroke, fibromyalgia, heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease. These links, although not cause-and-effect scenarios, make migraines an intriguing point for study for many experts.
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In a new study published in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), Ann I. Scher, of the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, MD, and her team followed more than 5,000 people for a period of 25 years to access the link between Parkinson’s disease, restless leg syndrome (RLS) and migraine headaches.
What they found was participants who had migraine with aura (an aura being a sensory “warning” such as blurred vision or loss of feeling prior to the actual migraine) were over two times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than those with no symptoms of migraine. Only 1.1 percent of participants who did not experience headaches were diagnosed with the condition, compared with 2.4 percent of those with migraine with aura.
People who are prone to suffering migraines in middle age are more than twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, a new study has found. (Shutterstock)
MNT reports people with migraine with aura were also around 3.6 times more likely to report at least four of the six symptoms of Parkinson’s, and people with migraine without aura were 2.3 times more likely.
Overall, migraine suffers were more likely to report symptoms of Parkinson’s disease compared to individuals without headaches, but individuals with aura migraines were the most strongly affected. The data states, overall, Parkinson’s symptoms were present in 19.7 percent of individuals with aura migraines, 12.6 percent in people with regular migraines, and 7.5 percent in participants who reported no headaches at all.
Headaches of any kind in the study were found to be linked to a higher risk for RLS as well.
“This new possible association is one more reason research is needed to understand, prevent and treat the condition,” said Scher. “A dysfunction in the brain messenger dopamine is common to both Parkinson’s and RLS, and has been hypothesized as a possible cause of migraine for many years. Symptoms of migraine such as excessive yawning, nausea and vomiting are thought to be related to dopamine receptor stimulation.”
Researchers stress that, while an apparent link is present between migraines and certain neurological disorders, there is still no cause-and-effect relationship. It could be that a genetic issue makes an individual predisposed to these types of conditions rather than one disorder causing or contributing to another. Migraines may, however, one day be seen a reason to proactively screen an individual for Parkinson’s disease or RLS in hope of treating the illnesses early on.
There is currently no cure for Parkinson’s disease, according to the Mayo Clinic, and treatment centers on controlling symptoms to help improve quality of life.
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