PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Causes of migraines nearly impossible to determine

Too many variables exist, says new research from Wake Forest Baptist

2013-04-08
(Press-News.org) WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – April 8, 2013 – Women often point to stress, hormones, alcohol, or even the weather as possible triggers for their migraines. But a new study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center found that it is nearly impossible for patients to determine the true cause of their migraine episodes without undergoing formal experiments.

The majority of migraine sufferers try to figure out for themselves what causes their headaches based on real world conditions, said lead author Timothy T. Houle, Ph.D, associate professor of anesthesia and neurology at Wake Forest Baptist.

"But our research shows this is a flawed approach for several reasons," he said. "Correctly identifying triggers allows patients to avoid or manage them in an attempt to prevent future headaches. However, daily fluctuations of variables – such as weather, diet, hormone levels, sleep, physical activity and stress – appear to be enough to prevent the perfect conditions necessary for determining triggers."

For example, said Houle, the simple act of drinking a glass of wine one day and not on the next could be complicated by inconsistencies in other factors. Similarly, a patient may drink wine for several days, but adding cheese to the mix one day could further skew results. In fact, a valid self-evaluation requires such perfect conditions that only occur about once every two years, he said.

"Many patients live in fear of the unpredictability of headache pain. As a result, they often restrict their daily lives to prepare for the eventuality of the next attack that may leave them bedridden and temporarily disabled," Houle said. "They may even engage in medication-use strategies that inadvertently worsen their headaches. The goal of this research is to better understand what conditions must be true for an individual headache sufferer to conclude that something causes their headaches."

Houle and co-author Dana P. Turner, M.S.P.H., also of the Wake Forest Baptist anesthesiology department, have published two related papers on the subject in the journal Headache, which were published online ahead of print this month.

For the study, nine women who had regular menstrual cycles and were diagnosed with migraine either with or without aura provided data for three months by completing a daily diary and tracking stress with the Daily Stress Inventory, a self-administered questionnaire to measure the number and impact of common stressors experienced in everyday life. Morning urine was also collected daily for hormone level testing. Houle and Turner also reviewed three years worth of weather data from a local weather station.

Because of the difficulty in recreating identical conditions each time a patient evaluates a potential trigger, determining triggers proves difficult even for physicians, said Turner. "People who try to figure out their own triggers probably don't have enough information to truly know what causes their headaches," she said. "They need more formal experiments and should work with their doctors to devise a formal experiment for testing triggers."

### The research was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and of the National Institutes of Health (1R01NS06525701).

Co-authors include: Todd A. Smitherman, Ph.D., University of Mississippi, Donald B. Penzien, Ph.D., Head Pain Center, University of Mississippi Medical Center, and Vincent T. Martin, M.D., University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is a fully integrated academic medical center located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The institution comprises the medical education and research components of Wake Forest School of Medicine, the integrated clinical structure and consumer brand Wake Forest Baptist Health, which includes North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Brenner Children's Hospital, the commercialization of research discoveries through the Piedmont Triad Research Park, as well as a network of affiliated community-based hospitals, physician practices, outpatient services and other medical facilities. Wake Forest School of Medicine is ranked among the nation's best medical schools and is a leading national research center in fields such as regenerative medicine, cancer, neuroscience, aging, addiction and public health sciences. Wake Forest Baptist's clinical programs have consistently ranked among the best in the country by U.S.News & World Report for the past 20 years. END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Sleep Drugs - FDA Warns of Side Effects While Natural Minerals are a Remedy

2013-04-08
The U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) recently updated their web page that describes the many potential side effects of sleeping drugs. On their site, they state that "Complex behaviors are a potential side effect of sedative-hypnotic products - a class of drugs used to help a person fall asleep and stay asleep. These include making phone calls, sleep-eating, and getting into the car and driving while not fully awake. Most people do not remember these events later." Russell Katz, M.D., Director of the FDA's Division of Neurology Products says, "Complex ...

Former FDA Special Agent Writes Book on Primal Nutrition

2013-04-08
Former Special Agent for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration turned public health advocate, Gary Collins, recently released his new book based on his popular health system entitled, Primal Power Method: Unlocking the Ancient Secret to Health. The book is positioned as a set of simple-to-understand guidelines that will enable anyone to achieve optimal health and wellness from the inside-out. Collins' former career as a federal investigator for the FDA included investigating health care fraud, tainted food, prescription drug counterfeiting, illegal importation of medical ...

Reality Show Competition America's Next Top Rapper featuring Vanilla Ice, DJ Green Lantern and Jadakiss, Mona Scott-Young and Other Rumored Judges

2013-04-08
An exciting new reality show, America's Next Top Rapper, is setting the stage for the rap industry's final cultural domination, with a nation-wide competition among aspiring rappers battling it out through the power of lyricism to make it to the big-time in front of a panel of celebrity judges this April. "We're excited to see the new judges says Wright following the fallout from rapper Trina's 50 million dollar lawsuit over a failed appearance on ANTR in 2012. " An exciting new reality show, America's Next Top Rapper, is setting the stage for the rap ...

Kae Elle Luxe, A Lifestyle Brand That Curates Affordable Style Trends Daily For Women On the Go

2013-04-08
Kae Elle Luxe gives contemporary women a simplified way to shop by offering a new style discovery each day. The digital update highlights affordable luxuries curated in handbags, jewelry and accessories. The brand is dedicated to meeting the lifestyle needs of today's progressive woman, whether it's a single college student or married mother of five; the company aids in creating stylized looks that transform effortlessly from business meetings to nights on the town. "Our lives are increasingly multi-faceted. Women juggle roles from chief household executives ...

Blue Door Networks, LLC Achieves Palo Alto Networks Platinum Partner Status

2013-04-08
Blue Door Networks, LLC, announced today that it has achieved Platinum Partner Status with next-generation firewall provider Palo Alto Networks. Based just outside of the Nation's Capital, Blue Door Networks is a communications and information technology (IT) company that specializes in providing best-in-class solutions for enterprises and the federal government. Awarded to partners who facilitate significant sales and demonstrate extensive expertise, this partnership identifies Blue Door Networks as an authority on Palo Alto Networks solutions. Palo Alto Networks next-generation ...

Fordham Univ. To Celebrate Hall Of Fame Baseball Legends In Ceremonies On Sat., April 20

2013-04-08
Fordham baseball will pay tribute to such legendary names as "The Fordham Flash" Frankie Frisch, iconic Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully, famed owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers Walter O'Malley and Esteban Bellan, the first Latin player to wear a major league uniform, on Saturday, April 20, at Houlihan Park at Jack Coffey Field on the Rose Hill campus in the Bronx. Fordham is proud to be the oldest and winningest Division I College Baseball program, having begun intercollegiate play in 1859, with more than 4,000 victories to its credit in its 154 history. Prominent ...

greeNEWit Sponsors 2013 NAA Green Conference

2013-04-08
greeNEWit, a Maryland sustainability company that provides energy solutions to reduce energy-related expenses and lower utility bills, will sponsor the 2013 NAA Green Conference taking place April 15-17, 2013 at the Marriott Waterfront, located at 700 Aliceanna St., Baltimore, Maryland 21202. greeNEWit will have a booth at the event to talk to building professionals about the company's unique energy services that include consulting on energy efficient building operations, common space area retrofits, lighting assessments and other techniques that can save property managers, ...

Business Breakthroughs International Launches Local Business Listing Service

2013-04-08
While the Internet and search engines have, in theory, made it easier to find and contact local businesses and service providers, in practice, it can be difficult to navigate the web of multiple, conflicting, missing, and plain incorrect business listings. Business Breakthroughs International (BBI), a Tony Robbins and Chet Holmes company, recently expanded its Internet Marketing division to include local business listing services for small- and medium-sized businesses. As the Yellow Pages and community mailers fade out of common use, the Internet, and specifically search ...

W2C Software Is Now Available At No Charge At Halfpricesoft.com

2013-04-08
Filing W2C and W3C is easy and inexpensive with the ezW2Correction software. To open this W-2c software to more users, payroll tax software provider Halfpricesoft.com launched a new promotion today to give businesses and accountants a cheaper way to order ezW2Correction, the W2C and W3C software. The new edition of EzW2Correction software was approved by SSA to print all W-2C copies and W-3C copy on white paper and eliminates the needs of the expensive W2C and W3C pre-printed forms. For year 2013, new users can now get this easy-to-use form W-2c software for free when ...

OpSuite Releases New Animated Video

2013-04-08
OpSuite, LLC, a leading provider of cloud based business management software solutions for retailers and franchise retailers, released a new animated video that demonstrates OpSuite's state-of-the-art technology and how the flexibility of OpSuite makes it a good fit for a wide variety of small and medium sized businesses. The video takes the viewer through the process of finding a retail solution that will meet all of their needs in the increasingly competitive retail industry. With so many point of sale and enterprise management solutions on the market, it can be challenging ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Robotic space rovers keep getting stuck. UW engineers have figured out why

New research shows how immigration status can become a death sentence during public health crisis

University of Toronto Engineering researchers develop safer alternative non-stick coating

Good vibrations: Scientists use imaging technology to visualize heat

More ecological diversity means better nutritional resources in Fiji’s agroforests

New global study shows freshwater is disappearing at alarming rates

Scientists create an artificial cell capable of navigating its environment using chemistry alone

A little salt is good for battery health

Deep-sea fish confirmed as a significant source of ocean carbonate

How to keep kids with eating disorders home after hospital stay? Therapy

Sex differences affect efficacy of opioid overdose treatment

Aligning AI with Human Values and Well-Being

Engineering the next generation of experimental physics

The scuba diving industry is funding marine ecosystem conservation and employing locals

BATMAN brings TCR therapy out of the shadows

Surrogates more likely to be diagnosed with mental illness, study finds

Columbia Engineering researchers turn dairy byproduct into tissue repair gel

Global estimates of lives and life-years saved by COVID-19 vaccination during 2020-2024

Potential trade-offs of proposed cuts to the NIH

New research simulates cancer cell behavior

COVID, over 2.5 million deaths prevented worldwide thanks to vaccines. One life saved for every 5,400 doses administered

Scuba diving generates up to $20 billion annually

Scientists advance efforts to create ‘virtual cell lab’ as testing ground for future research with live cells

How DNA packaging controls the “genome’s guardian”

Simplified models, deeper insights: Coarse-grained models unlock new potential for ionic liquid simulations

Gorillas’ personal circumstances shape their aggression towards groupmates

Which signalling pathways in the cell lead to possible therapies for Parkinson's disease

Identifying landslide threats using hydrological predictors

First graders who use more educational media spend more time reading

Exploring the meaning in life through phenomenology and philosophy

[Press-News.org] Causes of migraines nearly impossible to determine
Too many variables exist, says new research from Wake Forest Baptist