Do Migraines Cause Damage to the Brain?

Migraines affect millions of people all over the world. While this condition affects women more than any other demographic, it does not discriminate. Men and children have also been known to experience this chronic and sometimes debilitating condition. With migraines come painful headaches, nausea and sensitivity to light and sound. Contrary to popular belief that a migraine is just a terrible and chronic headache, the pain people experience during a migraine attack is only a symptom of this condition, and while there is no cure for the dreaded migraine, the symptoms can be avoided by staying away from potential triggers.

People have been experiencing and have been diagnosed with migraines for quite some time now, yet little is known about what actually causes this condition. This lack of information has led to the numerous myths and assumptions that people have accepted as the truth. While scientists and headache experts still cannot offer us an explanation as to what exactly causes migraines, they have been doing their best to study this condition and to dispel any false truths that people have believed all these years.

Migraines and Brain Damage

With so many myths and theories about migraines and why they occur, it’s really difficult to tell which of them are facts and which are just old wives tales. One of the many migraine myths scientists have busted recently is the theory that people who suffer from chronic and severe migraines are more prone to brain damage and other forms of brain deterioration. Several experts from the British Medical Journal conducted a study on migraines and brain damage or loss of cognitive function. In this extensive study, researchers and analysts took a closer look at the data on more than 6,000 women provided by the Women’s Health Study. The women who participated in this study were classified based on their migraine experience and were tested and observed during follow up consultations for a period of two years. By the end of the study, the scientists and experts found no evidence of a link between migraines and cognitive function loss or damage to the brain. This new study dispels any worry caused by a study done in 2007 regarding the occurrence of “tiny transient strokes” during migraine attacks wherein the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain is disrupted during a migraine which causes long term damage as cells in the brain slowly die.

So far, migraines have not been known to cause any long term health issues. There are still some theories and assumptions that need answers, so scientists and experts continue to perform research activities and wide-scale studies to determine whether or not there is a relationship between migraines and other health problems that have been associated with it throughout the years. There is still a lot to be discovered about this seemingly mysterious condition. As scientists and researchers forge ahead to find out what causes migraines, they take one step closer to finding a definite and more permanent source of relief from this condition and the headaches that come with it.