14 News, The Tri-State's News and Weather Leader-Study: Migraines make headaches even worse

Study: Migraines make headaches even worse

New Media Producer: Amanda Lents

If you suffer from migraines, new research could shed more light on the debilitating disease.

Scientists say they have pinpointed an area of the brain that is thicker in people with migraines than in those who don't.

The results of the small study suggests people with migraines may be more naturally sensitive to stimulation like pain.

James Maclean's migraines went from bad to worse before he sought treatment with a headache specialist, "It was sort of a chronic pain that never went away."

A chronic and progressively painful disease affecting Maclean and nearly 36 million other Americans.

Columbia University Medical Center Director of Headache Medicine Dr. Mark Green says, "Its very common, 18 percent of women and six percent of men have migraines. That's 12 percent of the population"

A new study published by the American Academy of Neurology shows repeated migraine attacks may contribute to or lead to structural changes in the brain.

When researchers compared two dozen migraine patients to a dozen people who do not have migraines, they discovered differences in the somatosensory cortex, the area of the brain that helps process information like pain.

Dr. Nouchine Hadjikhani says, "People who suffer from migraine have an increased thickness of the part of the brain that processes the sensation of the face and the head area"

Whether that cortex thickness is caused by a migraine or just the effects of suffering from one is not known.

But doctors, like Green, say the findings suggest migraine sufferers may need more aggressive medical treatment sooner, "The biggest concern with progressive brain changes without treatment, maybe and its too early say for sure, that it may lead to more headaches down the line"

Doctors say once diagnosed, patients can usually manage the pain, but not completely live headache free.