Link between skin temperature and migraines

A new study shows that women with colder skin temperatures are more likely to have migraines.

Migraine sufferers have colder noses and hands than people without migraines, possibly due to underlying blood vessel abnormalities, says a study published online in Autonomic Neuroscience. Migraine headaches are considered a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and stroke, but few studies have examined skin-temperature changes as a marker of vascular health, researchers said.

The study compared skin temperature in the face and hands of 41 Finnish women, 12 with migraines and 29 without headaches. A family history of migraine headaches was reported by 85% of migraine subjects and 31% of controls.

Half of the migraine subjects had headaches only on the right side and five had migraines accompanied by visual disturbances called aura. A digital infrared camera was used to measure skin temperature on the nose, cheeks, forehead, hands and fingertips in migraine subjects during a headache-free period, and in controls. The results were compared.

The average temperature of the nose and hands was about 3.6-degrees Fahrenheit lower in migraine subjects than controls. Of the migraine patients, 58% had skin temperatures below 86 degrees Fahrenheit, which is considered a normal skin temperature, in both the nose and fingers.

By comparison, the nose and finger temperatures were below 86 Fahrenheit in 31% and 40% of controls respectively.

Subjects with right-sided migraines had significantly higher blood pressure and lower hand and finger temperatures than healthy controls. The difference in fingertip temperatures was almost 9 degrees Fahrenheit, researchers said.

Of the controls with cold hands, half had a family history of migraine. Skin-temperature changes were unrelated to headache aura.

Colder extremities in migraine patients were likely due to constricted peripheral arteries or impaired function of the autonomic nervous system, which controls the heart and internal organs, the study suggests.

Caveat: The study and didn't include men. Subjects' vascular health wasn't measured. Healthy individuals may have cold extremities, researchers said.

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Migraines caused by different blood supply to the brain

Research shows that those who suffer from migraines may have a different way that blood is supplied to the brain.

In the UK alone, it is estimated that there are 190,000 migraine attacks per day. Migraines cause insufferable pain and can affect day-to-day living dramatically too – they can cause dramatic mood changes, and the throbbing pain can make it difficult or even impossible to sleep, work – and yet researchers have found it extremely difficult to pinpoint what causes them.

Now research published in PLOS ONE indicates that migraine sufferers have different arterial networks supplying the brain and this could help explain the cause.

Blood supply to the brain is slightly different to other parts in that it is protected by connections between the major arteries, thereby helping to ensure bloodflow at all times.

These connections are named ‘circle of Willis’ after the doctor who first pinpointed them. It’s these connections that appear to be different in people with migraine. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, US, looked at 170 people – one group who had no headaches, another who had migraine with aura, and one more group who had migraine without aura. Migraine with aura is defined as being typified by visual disturbances such as flashes of light, blind spots or tingling in the hands or face.

While 51% of people without headaches had an incomplete circle of Willis, the figures were significantly higher for those who did: 73% of people with migraine with aura; and 67% of those with migraine without aura.

Interestingly, when the researchers did magnetic resonance imaging to assess bloodflow they found that abnormalities in the circle of Willis were most prominent in the part of the brain that deals with vision. This, say the researchers, might explain why migraine sufferers often report seeing distortions, spots or wavy lines. The researchers are keen to point out, though, that the differences in circle of Willis between individuals is unlikely to be the only factor leading to migraine, and that other factors are almost certainly involved too. They do, however, suggest that checking the circle of Willis in patients could help pinpoint which contributory factors a patient has, thereby helping researchers move forward with testing different types of treatment.

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Variations in brain arteries may explain migraine headaches

New research shows that variations in the structure of brain arteries might explain why some people experience migraine headaches.

The network of arteries supplying blood flow to the brain is more likely to be incomplete in people who suffer migraine, a new study by researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania reports. Variations in arterial anatomy lead to asymmetries in cerebral blood flow that might contribute to the process triggering migraines.

The arterial supply of blood to the brain is protected by a series of connections between the major arteries, termed the "circle of Willis" after the English physician who first described it in the 17th century. People with migraine, particularly migraine with aura, are more likely to be missing components of the circle of Willis.

Migraine affects an estimated 28 million Americans, causing significant disability. Experts once believed that migraine was caused by dilation of blood vessels in the head, while more recently it has been attributed to abnormal neuronal signals. In this study, appearing in PLOS ONE, researchers suggest that blood vessels play a different role than previously suspected: structural alterations of the blood supply to the brain may increase susceptibility to changes in cerebral blood flow, contributing to the abnormal neuronal activity that starts migraine.

"People with migraine actually have differences in the structure of their blood vessels -- this is something you are born with," said the study's lead author, Brett Cucchiara, MD, Associate Professor of Neurology. "These differences seem to be associated with changes in blood flow in the brain, and it's possible that these changes may trigger migraine, which may explain why some people, for instance, notice that dehydration triggers their headaches."

In a study of 170 people from three groups -- a control group with no headaches, those who had migraine with aura, and those who had migraine without aura -- the team found that an incomplete circle of Willis was more common in people with migraine with aura (73 percent) and migraine without aura (67 percent), compared to a headache-free control group (51 percent). The team used magnetic resonance angiography to examine blood vessel structure and a noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging method pioneered at the University of Pennsylvania, called Arterial spin labeling (ASL), to measure changes in cerebral blood flow.

"Abnormalities in both the circle of Willis and blood flow were most prominent in the back of the brain, where the visual cortex is located. This may help explain why the most common migraine auras consist of visual symptoms such as seeing distortions, spots, or wavy lines," said the study's senior author, John Detre, MD, Professor of Neurology and Radiology.

Both migraine and incomplete circle of Willis are common, and the observed association is likely one of many factors that contribute to migraine in any individual. The researchers suggest that at some point diagnostic tests of circle of Willis integrity and function could help pinpoint this contributing factor in an individual patient. Treatment strategies might then be personalized and tested in specific subgroups.

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Everything you should know about migraines

This article discusses many aspects of migraines such as what causes them and how to treat them.

Migraines can loosely be described as recurrent moderate to severe headaches that is typically unilateral, that is, pain occurring on side of the head. Associated symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, photophobia (increased sensitivity to light), phonophobia (increased sensitivity to sound) and the pain is generally aggravated by physical activity. Up to one-third of people with migraine headaches perceive an aura: a transient visual, sensory, language, or motor disturbance which signals that the headache will soon occur. Occasionally an aura can occur with little or no headache following it.

What causes migraines?

The underlying causes of migraines are unknown. However, they are believed to be related to a mix of environmental and genetic factors. They run in families in about two-thirds of cases and rarely occur due to a single gene defect.

There have been stipulations that migraines are caused by expanded blood vessels in the brain. However, the pain of migraine headaches might not be caused by expanded blood vessels in the brain, as previously thought. Instead, the real culprit may be overactive pain-signal firing in brain cells, new research suggests. These findings were published on April 9th in the journal Lancet Neurology, come from studying the brain scans of patients as they were suffering from a migraine.

Moreover, there are several treatments being developed that could address this signaling and, in turn, help treat migraine pain. However, further studies are needed to confirm that the overactive signaling is a cause of migraine pain.

How can migraines be cured?

Preventive migraine medications are considered effective if they reduce the frequency or severity of the migraine attacks by at least 50%. Common drugs used in Ghana to help with the pain are Cafergot (combination of drugs; ergotamine tatrate and caffeine), topiramate, propranolol, and metoprolol. Other household methods that can help are as follows:

a. Getting a good night’s sleep

b. Keep the room dark

c. Take Caffeine; it's a paradox of headaches: ingest too much caffeine and you may get a headache, but take a little bit and it can help make the pain disappear

d. Ice packs. Lie down and put an ice pack or cold compress on your head. Close your eyes while doing that.

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