Study objective:
To examine structural changes in the somatosensory cortex (SSC) of Migraineurs.
Study methods:
- The study cohort (a group of individuals with some characteristics in common) was comprised of 24 patient with Migraine disease and 12 control patients with out Migraine.
- The cohort of Migraineurs was comprised of 12 patients diagnosed with Migraine without aura (MWA) and 12 diagnosed with Migraine without aura (MWOA).
- Cortical thickness of the SSC of patients with migraine was measured and compared with age- and sex-matched control subjects.
Study results:
- Migraineurs had on average thicker SSCs than the control group.
- The most significant thickness changes were noticed in the caudal SSC, where the trigeminal area, including head and face, is represented.
- MWOA study participants showed clusters of thickening in more areas of the SSC than MWA participants.
Study conclusions:
"In conclusion, the current findings of gray matter thickening of the SSC in addition to the previous discovery of white matter diffusional changes in the trigeminal somatosensory pathway of the same migraine cohort indicate that somatosensory mechanisms are important components in the migraine pathophysiology. These cortical and subcortical changes may be either the result or cause of repetitive migraine attacks, which may also affect other systems. This may explain the high comorbidity of migraine with other pain disorders, including back pain, temporomandibular disorders, and fibromyalgia besides sensory disturbances such as allodynia."1
Summary -- what does all of this mean to Migraineurs?
Dr. Richard B. Lipton, of the Montefiore Headache Clinic in New York, made some interesting comments that make a great deal of sense:
"The authors suggested that it may be that repeated attacks of migraine lead to the changes in the brain, although another possibility is that these alterations in the brain structure predispose to migraine... I have a bias in favor of the hypothesis they present -- that recurrent migraines alter the brain --- because I want to believe that if patients get treated with preventive medication and acute treatments, maybe this thickening could be prevented."5
