Twenty-five percent of women and 8% of men suffer from migraine headaches. Some migraines are moderate, some are severe. Some occur at every menstrual cycle, some occur twice a month. Some are brought on by stress, smoking, fatigue, and certain foods. Some disable people for days, and all take people away from their jobs, their friends and families, and their livelihoods every time these migraines strike them.Among these migraine sufferers, only half know that these headaches are migraines, and the other half are misdiagnosed or not receiving any treatment at all. Most people who do know that they suffer from migraine headaches have gone through a long line of doctors to receive the correct diagnosis and proper treatment.
As scientists begin to understand the origins of migraine headaches, more treatments are becoming available to ease the pain. While there’s no cure yet, the medicine that is available is more effective than ever before.
The cause of migraine is unknown. The condition may result from a series of reactions in the central nervous system caused by changes in the body or in the environment. There is often a family history of the disorder, suggesting that migraine sufferers may inherit sensitivity to triggers that produce inflammation in the blood vessels and nerves around the brain and scalp, causing pain.
