Over 300 million people suffer from migraine in the world. They can be more or less painful and be accompanied by sensitivity to light, sounds or even nausea.
If the symptoms vary, migraine patients have in common to have cerebral peculiarities. A previous study found atrophy of regions of the cortex (called cortical regions) of the brain. This atrophy would be due to the chronic stimulation of this area in the event of migraine attack.
A new study brings another element to the understanding of migraine at the brain level. Patients would experience a reduction in cortical area and thickness in areas of the brain related to pain treatment. Italian researchers made this observation by subjecting 63 migraine patients and 18 non-migraine patients to an MRI.
In people with migraine, “the cortical area increases at the end of fetal development and the cortical thickness changes throughout life as a consequence of the disease, observed Dr Massimo Filippi, director of the University’s Neuroimaging Research Unit Ospedale San Raffaele, quoted by Foxnews. Therefore, we assume that migraine patients would have a cortical signature that would make them more sensitive to the pain and symptoms of migraine “, continues the researcher. Problem, this cerebral” predisposition “could become a vicious circle, bringing by the result of other brain abnormalities and a reduction in cortical thickness.
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