The Physiology of Migraine and its Prevention by Nutrition

Abstract

Migraine is a genetic condition associated with hypersensitive sensory neurons, more sensory neuronal connections, and different electrical properties than a non-migraine brain[1, 2]. Migraineurs waste 50% more sodium in their urine than typical subjects[3]. The most prominent migraine related genetic variants are associated with critical ionic channels that operate the brain’s electrical functions: action potential, resting potential, the delivery of neurotransmitters, and the resetting of membrane potential[4, 5]. Migraineurs’ brains are very sensitive to electrolyte imbalance as a result of channelopathy[6-8] and because of carbohydrate sensitivity. Migraineurs tend to end up with metabolic syndrome. In this paper I present case studies based on findings in a Facebook migraine group with over thirteen thousand migraine members, who have been able to abort and prevent all of their migraines while also tapering off of all of their migraine medications, by applying only nutritional and hydration changes.1. Ambrosini, A. and J. Schoenen, The electrophysiology of migraine. Curr Opin Neurol, 2003. 16(3): p. 327-31. 2. Tso, A.R., et al., The anterior insula shows heightened interictal intrinsic connectivity in migraine without aura. Neurology, 2015: p. 1043-50. 3. Campbell, D.A., E.M. Tonks, and K.M. Hay, An Investigation of the Salt and Water Balance in Migraine. British Medical Journal, 1951: p. 1424-1429. 4. Science, W.I.o. The Human Gene Database. GeneCards: The Human Gene Database 2017 [cited 2017 1/28/2017]; The Human Genome Database]. Available from: http://www.genecards.org . 5. Liu, H., et al., Resting state brain activity in patients with migraine: a magnetoencephalography study. The Journal of Headache and Pain, 2015. 16(1): p. 42. 6. Lee, J.-Y. and M. Kim, Current Issues in Migraine Genetics. J Clin Neurol, 2005. 1(1): p. 8-13. 7. Catterall, W.A., et al., Inherited Neuronal Ion Channelopathies: New Windows on Complex Neurological Diseases. The Journal of Neuroscience, 2008. 28(46): p. 11768-11777. 8. Longo, D.L., et al., Harrison's Manual of Medicine 18th Edition. 2013, New York: McGraw Hill Medical. Not funded This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.