Have you ever had a migraine? If so, you already know just how excruciating they can be. From avoiding light to hiding in your room with a washcloth over your eyes, it seems impossible to make the pain go away. However, a study in animals suggests that blocking a single neurotransmitter in the brain may stop the firing of the nerves that are linked with migraines.
In the experiments, researchers looked at the effects of two medicines that cause blood vessels to widen, increasing blood flow, on certain receptors in rats’ brain cells. From this, researchers found that when they administered one of these medicines, nicknamed PACAP, directly into the rats’ brains, a cluster of neurons in the center of the head started firing more than normal, mimicking the symptoms of a migraine. However, the other medicine doesn’t activate the same receptor as PACAP, and the new study found that it didn’t show the same effect in the rats.
Treatment Options
While research continues to be conducted to better understand migraines, at Craniofacial Pain and Dental Sleep Center of Georgia offers some treatment options to help. Many times medications might be required to help combat headaches and migraines, but TMD might actually be the cause of your headaches or migraines. When TMD plays a role in headaches, medications are probably not working as well as they should be. To help relieve headache pain caused by TMD, a proper treatment plan will need to be created.
Contact Craniofacial Pain and Dental Sleep Center of Georgia for more information on migraines and treatment options.
