No one really knows what causes migraines, but some studies have I started We unravel the mechanism behind these hellish headaches.
There evidence A short chain of amino acids Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) could be the evil puppet master behind your painful migraine attacks, and the cure is Targeting CGRP already on the marketThere are signs Malfunctioning drainage system Sometimes something in the brain is involved.
Now, a research team at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine has found evidence that CGRP may be directly involved in blocking the drainage of cerebrospinal fluid from the brain, causing the pressure and pain felt during a migraine.
“Our study highlights the importance of the brain’s lymphatic system in the pathophysiology of migraine.” To tell Physiologist Kathleen Caron said: “We found that migraine pain is influenced by altered interactions with immune cells and by CGRP, which blocks the drainage of cerebrospinal fluid from the brain. Meningeal lymphatic vessels“
This typically handy neuropeptide is abundant in layers of brain tissue called the meninges during a migraine attack. Through a series of tests on mice and their cell cultures, the researchers discovered that CGRP not only transmits pain between neurons, but also blocks the flow of fluid from the brain’s lymphatic system, which may be responsible for the feeling of pressure that accompanies a migraine.
In a mouse model of nitroglycerin-induced migraine, mice genetically engineered to lack lymphatic CGRP receptors (essentially rendering them “immune” to the neuropeptide) showed a significant reduction in chronic migraines as measured by the neuropeptide receptor signaling pathway. Frown scale.
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is stored in many chambers within the nervous system, connected via a complex plumbing network of meningeal lymphatic vessels. These vessels facilitate the flow of fluid to brain tissue, much like a garden hose trickles water to plants in a garden. Additionally, these lymphatic “garden hoses” deliver immune cells to the brain’s protective covering, keeping a watchful eye for pests and disease, just like little gardeners.
When the researchers injected CGRP directly into key cerebrospinal fluid reservoirs in the brains of migraine model mice, the holes along the MLVs closed, causing the brain’s plumbing to reverse course, and significantly reducing the amount of cerebrospinal fluid leaving the skull.
While this new study adds to the growing body of evidence implicating CGRP in migraines, and in particular migraine pain, it’s still unclear what exactly causes this whole-body breakdown. But it does help us better understand why migraine treatments that target CGRP are effective, and what parts of the body they affect.
The next topic is why these lymphatic problems exist. Women experience migraines three times more often than men.
““Because lymphatic dysfunction is prevalent in women, it is tempting to speculate that neurological disorders such as migraine may be influenced by sex-specific differences in meningeal lymphatics,” Caron said. To tell.
“If this is true, new therapeutic strategies and drug targets to enhance meningeal lymphatic and glymphatic flow in women would be desirable.”
This study Clinical Research Journal.
