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People who suffer from repeated migraines have a thickening in an area of their brains that is involved in processing pain, say researchers. It is not clear if the migraines or the brain-thickening come first.

“We don’t know if it’s a cause or a consequence” of migraines, said study senior author Dr Nouchine Hadjikhani, associate professor of radiology at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging. However, Dr Richard Lipton, director, Montefiore Headache Clinic in New York City, said there was a possibility that these alterations in the brain structure predispose to migraine.

“I have a bias in favor of the hypothesis they present — that recurrent migraines alter the brain — because I want to believe that if patients get treated with preventive medication and acute treatments, maybe this thickening could be prevented,” Lipton said.

What is a Migraine?
Migraines are debilitating headaches that usually strike on one side of a person’s head, and can involve nausea, vomiting and sensitivity to light. Some migraines are accompanied by ‘aura’, or changes in vision.

Changes in the brain induced by repetitive migraine attacks may make sufferers more prone to suffering from other pain disorder, the researchers said. This would explain the high number of people with migraine who also suffer from such conditions as fibromyalgia and back pain.