Hormonal cause of menstrual migraine unravelled
Researchers at LUMC and Erasmus MC have discovered that women with menstrual migraine have a different oestrogen profile. This finding helps to explain why migraines often occur just before menstruation and offers new avenues for treatment.
Migraines occur on average three times more frequently in women than in men. For many women, the attacks are linked to their periods. It has long been suspected that the female hormone oestrogen plays an important role in this. The researchers at LUMC and Erasmus MC have now gained a better understanding of what happens during the menstrual cycle.
The research
For the study, women were monitored throughout their menstrual cycle and blood samples were taken at various points. The results showed that women with menstrual migraine reach higher oestrogen levels in the second half of their cycle. These levels then fall more sharply just before menstruation than in women without migraine. No clear differences were found in the other hormones studied.
According to the researchers, this discovery brings us closer to a biological explanation for menstrual migraine. The sharp drop in oestrogen just before menstruation may explain why this period is particularly prone to migraine attacks for many women. The results therefore also offer new avenues for treatments that could help prevent attacks around the time of menstruation.
