Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter to receive a comprehensive roundup of the best opinions of the week in our Voices Dispatches email. Scientists have made an exciting discovery that 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.
Researchers from the University of Rochester in the US have discovered that fluid flow and a spreading wave of signal disruption are responsible for triggering migraines and inducing auras. The researchers believe that these findings could pave the way 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
