An emerging theory suggests that migraine attacks might be the brain’s self-protective response to oxidative stress, which is a cellular process tied to aging and increased susceptibility to disease.
Migraines are severe headache attacks that can last anywhere between a few hours and a few days, significantly impairing productivity and quality of life.
In the United States, the 1-year
There is currently no cure for migraine, and no consensus regarding its causes. The most widely used treatments for migraine target its symptoms and include
Now, Dr. Jonathan M. Borkum — a researcher from the University of Maine in Orono — is putting forth a new theory. Migraine attacks, he suggests, could be part of the brain’s self-defense mechanism against
Oxidative stress takes place when the system is no longer able to effectively counterbalance the impact of reactive molecules containing oxygen, which are known as “
Dr. Borkum details his novel approach to migraine in an
Existing studies had already shown that migraineurs exhibit
“Oxidative stress is a useful signal of impending harm because a number of unfavorable conditions in the brain can give rise to it,” explains. Dr. Borkum, which is why he suggests that treatments focusing on oxidative stress might be more effective in preventing migraine attacks.
Dr. Borkum considers different migraine components — the release of serotonin, for example, and
The researcher cites both in vitro and in vivo studies of brain ischemia, which is an insufficient blood supply to the brain, suggesting that the typical components of a migraine attack have a neuroprotective function.
According to him, these responses stimulate antioxidant enzymes, decrease the production of oxidants, help to prevent the death of neural cells, and stimulate the growth of nervous tissue by releasing growth factors in the brain.
“There are feedback loops between these components of a migraine attack that tie them together into an integrated system,” says Dr. Borkum. “Thus, it seems likely that migraine attacks are not simply triggered by oxidative stress, they actively protect and repair the brain from it.”
He adds that despite the fact that we are used to thinking of migraine as a disease, its symptoms — including pain, hypersensitivity to auditory and visual stimuli, and nausea — are simply markers of the body’s activation of its defense mechanism against a threat: in this case, oxidative stress.
“So,” says Dr. Borkum, “the theory here tells us that to truly solve migraines we must look beneath the attack to understand the brain’s underlying vulnerability, that is, what gives rise to the oxidative stress.”
He also expresses a hope that should his theory be proven, more effective treatments for migraine might be found that target oxidative stress rather than just the symptoms of the headache attacks.
Moreover, learning more about this protective mechanism might point to preventive strategies against a spectrum of other neurodegenerative conditions.
“The existence of an integrated system for protecting and repairing the brain could turn out to be quite useful — for example, we might one day be able to learn from this mechanism how to prevent neurodegenerative diseases.”
Dr. Jonathan M. Borkum