Migraine Headaches

Laquanda EleyMarch 6, 2013

4th

Name of the Disorder:

• The common and scientific name name for migraine headaches are the same.

Causes:

• A migraine is caused by abnormal brain activity, which can be triggered by a number of factors. However, the exact chain of events remains unclear.

Causes/ Triggers:Common food

triggers include:

• cheese

• alcohol

• caffeine products, and caffeine withdrawal

• chocolate

• intensely sweet foods

• dairy products

• fermented or pickled foods

• citrus fruits

• nuts

Environmental and event-related

triggers include:

• stress or time pressure

• menstrual periods, menopause

• sleep changes or disturbances, oversleeping

• prolonged or uncomfortable posture

• hunger

• odors, smoke, or perfume

• strong glare or flashing lights

Drugs which may trigger migraine

include:

• oral contraceptives

• estrogen replacement therapy

• nitrates

Transmitted:

Can be transmitted through genetics.

• A child of a parent that suffers from migraines has as much as a 50% chance of developing migraine.

• If both parents are affected, the chance rises to 70%

• However, the gene or genes responsible have not been identified.

Target Population

• Migraine is a moving target: symptoms are hard to evaluate and can change from one attack to the next.

• No ethnic group is mostly targeted.

• Children as young as 18 months old have them and about 10% of school-age children suffer from migraine.

• More women than men have migraines , 10-14% of American women get menstrual migraine. Some experience them while not on menstrual cycle.

Where and how does it affect the PNS/ CNS?

The swelling of blood vessels in the brain that results from chemicals released during the beginning of the migraine process affects the blood flow to several areas of the brain. When the blood flow to the visual cortex, or the occipital lobe, is affected.

Vision disturbances, are considered a "warning sign" that a migraine is coming occurs in both eyes and may involve any or all of the following:

• A temporary blind spot

• Blurred vision

• Eye pain

• Seeing stars or zigzag lines

• Tunnel vision

Symptoms:Symptoms:

Symptoms cont.:

For many patients, the headaches start on the same side each time. The headaches usually:

• Feel throbbing, pounding

• Are worse on one side of the head

• Start as a dull ache and get worse within minutes to hours

• Last 6 to 48 hours

• Chills

• Increased urination

• Fatigue

• Loss of appetite

• Nausea and vomiting

• Numbness, tingling, or weakness

• Problems concentrating, trouble finding words

• Sensitivity to light or sound

• Sweating• Increased need for sleep• Neck pain

Prognosis:

Frequency of migraine may be lessened by avoiding triggers

• eating at regular times, and

not skipping meals• reducing the use of caffeine

and pain relievers• restricting physical exertion

regular sleep hours, but not oversleeping

• managing time to avoid stress

Drugs can be used for migraine prevention:

• beta blockers• tricyclic antidepressants• calcium channel blockers• anticonvulsants• prozac• serotonin antagonists• drug therapy

Cures/Treatments:

Early/ Mild Migraines:

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like, acetaminophen and ibuprofen.

• A recent study concluded that a combination of acetaminophen, aspirin, and caffeine could effectively relieve symptoms for many migraine patients.

Severe Migraines::Elimination of the offending

food can decrease the frequency of migraines

• Herbal therapy may lessen the frequency of attacks.

• Learning to increase the flow of blood

• During a migraine, keep the lights low; put the feet in a tub of hot water and place a cold cloth on the occipital region This draws the blood to the feet and decreases the pressure in the head.

Diagnosis:

• Migraines eventually go into remission and sometimes disappear completely, particularly as they age

Lab tests and imaging studiessuch as CT scan or MRI scans

have not been useful for identifying migraine.

• However, for some patients, those tests may be needed to rule out a brain tumor or other structural causes of migraine headache.

Terrell Davis

• Born in San Diego, California.

• At seven years old that's when his Migraine attacks started. He continued to play football through high school.

• The Denver Broncos picked him and he went on to be one of the best playoff running backs in NFL history.

During the first quarter of Super Bowl XXXII, he was hit hard and left the field with a towel draped over his head.

• The Migraine that was developing made the sunlight exceedingly hard to tolerate, and Davis missed the second quarter.

• He used Migranal Nasal Spray,and was back in the game for the second half. .He scored three touchdowns -- including the winning one!

• Davis was named Most Valuable Player.

Terrell Davis

The American Migraine Foundation (AMF) has implemented a program to assist in the development of headache clinics in academic medical centers.

Academic Headache Centers will:o Provide comprehensive and integrated approach to evaluation and

management of headache patients.o Provide accredited, specialty training in Headache Medicine to fellows

pursuing career in headache medicine.

Need some help?

International Headache and Migraine

Support and Advocacy

Education, support, and advocacy information are essential to anyone with headaches or Migraine disease. Thus, the nonprofit and medical professional organization Web sites dedicated to those issues are vitally important to us.

Need a little more help?

"AMERICAN MIGRAINE FOUNDATION." About Migraine. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2013.

"Famous Migraineurs -- Terrell Davis." Famous Migraineurs -- Terrell Davis. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2013.

"Migraine Research Foundation -- About Migraine." Research -- About Migraine. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2013.

Sharp, K. A. (2002). Migraine Headache. In D. S. Blanchfield & J. L. Longe (Eds.), The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 2187-2189). Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3405601018&v=2.1&u=cary81451&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w

Robinson, R. (2004). Migraine Headache. In K. L. Lerner & B. W. Lerner (Eds.), The Gale Encyclopedia of Science (3rd ed., Vol. 4, pp. 2560-2563). Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3418501461&v=2.1&u=cary81451&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w

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