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Could weight loss help migraine headache?

10/16/2010 21:24:00 admin
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The Food and Drug Administration said on Oct 14 it has approved Botox injection (onabotulinumtoxinA), made by Allergan Inc. of Irvine, California to treat chronic migraine in patients who experience headache on more than 14 days per month.

The FDA did not say how effective this Botox injection, which renders an effect of botulinum toxin, but a phase 3 trial reported on foodconsumer.org indicated that the effectiveness is moderate.

The trial led by Diener H.C. and colleagues from the University of Essen in Germany published in the July 2010 issue of Cephalalgia shows migraine patients who received Botox injection were free of headache 9 out of 28 days while a placebo kept patients free of headache 6.7 out of 28 days. That could mean that use of botox cut the headache duration by about 8 percent.

Those who do not like drugs may like to modify their lifestyle.  Some foods may trigger episodes of migraine headache.  Many studies have even shown obesity is associated with migraine. That is, weight loss may help migraine patients to manage the condition.

Téllez-Zenteno JF at the University of Saskatchewan compared 1371 individuals with migraine and 612 controls for their body mass indexes and found rates of overweight and obesity in migraine patients and controls were statistically significant.

The study was reported in July 2010 issue of European Neurology.

Another report study led by Recober A and Goadsby P.J. at the University of Iowa says epidemiological studies have suggested obesity is a risk factor for chronic migraine. And the authors say the association between obesity and migraine is supported by several lines of evidence.  

First, both obesity and migraine share a range of common markers at elevated levels.  

Second, proinflammatory cytokines and adipocytokines secreted in adipose tissue have been implicated in migraine pathophysiology.

And third, obese people are found to have higher levels of the neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide which plays a role in the pathophysiology of migraine.

The report was published in the March 2010 issue of Drug News & Perspectives.

In addition to Botox  injection, other treatments like painkillers are available for migraine patients.  Avoiding certain foods may also help.

Jimmy Downs
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