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They affect one in five women and are the second leading cause of work disability, but research on these acute headaches remains low and the funds they receive are scarce. What is the reason?
The first time I suffered from a migraine was an afternoon after leaving school.
A little discomfort in my head eventually became an excruciating pain that darkened my vision and lit the light. there was in the room a source of pure agony
Then came the vomit.
This is a cycle that I have lived countless times in recent years. One of these times, the migraine has forced me to leave my job and to stay with the feeling that nothing could help me anymore.
But while a simple headache can happen with an aspirin or ibuprofen, the migraine is aggressive and can eventually weaken who suffers.
And it has not yet been discovered what is the exact reason it occurs (hormones and abnormal brain activity are only two possible theories) and there is no sustained treatment offered Therefore, it is perhaps not surprising that in the World Health Organization's most important global survey on well-being, with data from 195 countries, it reveals that, every year from 1990 to Migraines were the second leading cause behind years of life with disabilities.
This is the second most common condition on the list of those who make a person feel unable to work or perform their actions. normal daily activities
— Few resources —
And even though it's one of the leading causes of work disability – only in the UK, for example , has a cost of US $ 29 million for health services and businesses, it is still one of the least studied diseases of the planet.
Not only that: it is a disease that mostly affects women. One in five, to be precise, while the prevalence among men is one in fifteen cases.
Why the? Again, the reasons are not clear.
A study from the University of Arizona published in April 2018 and performed with male and female rats, showed that one of the reasons is perhaps the relationship between high levels of estrogen and low levels of Enzyme NHE1
Without enough NHE1 in the body, pain signals increase exponentially.
"Based on these findings, we believe that women are more likely to suffer from migraine attacks because the magnitude of its hormonal fluctuations alter the level of NHE1," says the researcher Emily Galloway .
Paradoxically, however, most of the research that has been done on migraine uses male specimens in the Orio laboratory, even though in real life women suffer the most
— Long history —
These severe headaches are one of the oldest complaints recorded
"It was considered that women did not have the same human ability to intellectual work that they were more likely to over-demand their "weak nervous system" "
Joanna Kempner, professor of sociology at Rutgers University
Writings discovered in Egypt and dating back to 1200 BC accurately describe this evil
However, the first more accurate description, with symptoms and a name, is due to a Greek physician of the century. II, Areteo de Cappadocia
In fact, the word migraine comes from the Greek word " hemicrania ", which means "half-skull".
But despite the medical classification, the treatment to relieve it was still the superstition conditions
In the Middle Ages, remedies related to witchcraft were suggested, such as the application of a clove of garlic on the temples.
Others recommended trepanation: a practice of piercing the skull. This aggressive procedure has been used to free the evil spirits of those suffering from mental illness, according to the beliefs of the time.
But beyond these questionable treatments, it was only in the 19th century that physicians began to notice higher prevalence. of migraine in women.
Although, again, diagnoses have not been very successful. Many specialists of the time indicated that it was a mental illness that they called "the disorder of low-class mothers" whose spirit was said to be weakened by the daily work, the lack of sleep, breastfeeding and malnutrition
. ] Women suffering from these acute headaches have been ridiculed and labeled hysterics, which has resulted in the stigmatization of neurosis that has not yet been completely eradicated.
"Towards the end of the twentieth century, migraine was almost synonymous with neurotic housewives"
"It was a disease related to a delicate nervous system, and it was considered that women did not have the same ability as men for intellectual work and, therefore, they were more likely to demand his "weak nervous system," says Joanna Kempner, professor of sociology at Rutgers University. [19659003] Indeed, the one who is considered the modern father of the investigation in willful misconduct The leader, the American Harold G. Wolff, established a similar difference between male migraine and that of women. [19659003Accordingtohim men were ambitious and successful and only suffered from migraine when they were tired .
While women suffered from these severe headaches because they were unable to # 39; a accept their role as women, especially when it was linked to sex.
According to Wolff, women "they believe that sex is, at most, a reasonable conjugal duty .In many cases, for them, it is frankly unpleasant and they are "
" At the end of the 20th century, migraine was almost synonymous with neurotic housewives.In fact, in some dictionaries, the word "migraine" was synonymous with "woman," says Kempner
— The mind counts —
It can not be denied that there seems to be a relationship between this disease and mental health
Many researches conclude that migraines are associated with various psychiatric disorders.
"In some dictionaries, the word migraine was considered synonymous with woman"
A 2016 study indicated that people who suffer are almost three times more likely to develop a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) , while patients with depression are three times more likely to suffer from migraine attacks.
Another study found that one in six people with recurrent migraines had suicidal thoughts at some point in their lives (the average in the general population is one in 10.)
" But the big question is whether there is a causal relationship [19] 459005] .When you suffer from a disorder like migraine, the probability of an overlap with d? other diseases is very high, "said Messoud Ashina, director of the Migraine Research Unit in Denmark.
And of course, also suffering from migraines it can lead to poor mental health, rather than # 39, to the "delicate mental constitution" that leads to migraines as believed by Victorian physicians.
But, beyond the debilitating effect, the condition is surprisingly misunderstood or studied
"Many neurology specialists consider migraine c like a benign disease. It is not cancer, it is not Parkinson 's disease. But if you look at the personal and public impact she's having, you see that's a big problem, "says Ashina.
Professor of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, USA United, Arleen Starling points out that in the medical community, many do not consider migraine as a topic of study for "serious" neurology.
And part of this difficulty may be based on a sexist bias : It is already known that, in general, women have more difficulty in taking their symptoms seriously or in arriving at a correct diagnosis, compared to men.
— Very common —
According to experts , the large number of migraine patients should mean that specialists are familiar with the disease
But this is not always the case:
"The headache is the most common symptom in patients in neurology and is the least taught in resident residents of the specialty. It's like training electricians without telling them about light bulbs, "he told Kempner when he wrote his book" Tonight No: Migraine and Politics ". gender and health "
. a new treatment seems to be on the way: an injection called Erenumab that is administered once a month and blocks a receptor in the brain that triggers the migraine attack.
this new drug is designed specifically to combat migraine not created for another disease and that it turned out that it could help relieve migraine, "said Starling.
"And being a drug created for a specific disease toxicity is less. That is to say that he has fewer side effects, "he added
as a migraine patient, I can not be more excited. The treatment I am currently doing is with beta blockers, which were originally designed for hypertension. It turned out that they were also fighting migraine, but they are not a specific medicine for this condition, so I constantly suffer from fatigue, dizziness and, if I stop taking it suddenly. I can have a heart attack
to spend six months without migraines, I am reducing the dose.
My goal? Reach the point of "zero medicine."
But recently I had a new attack, and a few months ago I had to have been hospitalized because I had all the symptoms of a heart attack [19659003] Fortunately, it was a false alarm, but it even opened my eyes to the need for treatment for my migraine that does not affect my vital organs.
that a solution is already on the horizon.
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