This does make sense, I never believed that the vessels themselves were causing the migraine.

I hope someone will come up with the ability to block migraines forever.

I know what you mean, Rose. Not vascular, but why does Triptans work, I always wondered! Now I have the explanation. It appears to be blocking the CGRP.

here is an exerpt from the article for those of you who haven't read it yet.


""CGRP, which stands for calcitonin gene-related peptide neurotransmitter, has long been thought to play a role in migraines, but for much of that time for the wrong reason. Part of the confusion was because of a misunderstanding of migraines themselves.

Why they occur still isn't clear, but specialists say they have recently begun to understand the migraine as a brain disorder and not a vascular disorder. Until about 12 years ago, they were believed to stem from constriction of blood vessels in the brain. The dilation of the vessels to compensate then led to the throbbing pain, so the thinking went.

Now, it appears more likely that migraines "hijack" the brain's normal pain circuitry, says Dr. Dodick. The brain's normal pain-sensory system, in which nerve endings send messages to the brain about a threat, goes awry in migraines.

Experts disagree about how a migraine is triggered, but the trigeminal nervean important pathway that carries sensory information about the faceand its connections to numerous other nerves and the brain appear to be responsible for transmitting the pain.

Researchers also have isolated certain genes that might be linked to a predisposition for migraines, Dr. Dodick says.

Triptans, which promote blood-vessel constriction and inflammation, block the release of CGRP in the trigeminal nerve. While CGRP does aid the blood-vessel dilation process, its role activating the nerves in the brain appears to be the key when it comes to migraine pain.""


Angela

Very good read. Thank you for sharing.