Migraines don't damage brain: study

I'm glad about this, although by now I know how to stop them before they get full-blown.
Migraines don't damage brain: study
"It is almost always the first question that migraine patients ask," said Christophe Tzourio, a doctor and researcher at the Universite Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, and the main architect of a study published online this week in the British Medical Journal.
"Today we can provide an answer: there's nothing to worry about," he told AFP.
Migraines are acutely debilitating headaches -- sometimes with an "aura", in which patients have the impression of seeing through frosted glass -- that strike around one out of nine adults.
The causes remain uncertain, but are known to involve a link with blood vessels in the brain.
Earlier research using magnetic resonance imaging technology showed that people with a history of full-on migraines are more likely to incur tiny lesions to microvessels inside the brain.
Such ruptures result from a deterioration of the small cerebral arteries that supply blood to so-called white matter, which facilitates the flow on information across different parts of the brain.
The same type of lesions are more common in elderly people, diabetics and hypertension sufferers.
In large quantities, they have been linked to depression, an increased risk of stroke, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, and impaired memory and reasoning.
Tzourio and colleagues wondered if migraine patients are more likely to show some of these symptoms, so they tested the cognitive abilities of more than 800 over-65 seniors living in Nantes, western France.
Nearly 15 percent of the volunteers had suffered from migraines over the course of their lives.
On average their scores were indistinguishable from the others. Even seniors who had endured the most debilitating type of migraine, with aura, showed no cognitive damage.
"This is a very reassuring result for the many people who suffer from migraine," said co-author Tobias Kurth, also a researcher as Universite Pierre et Marie Curie.
"In spite of the increased presence of lesions of the brain microvessels, this disorder does not increase the risk of cognitive decline," he said in a press release.
Update on Feb. 18.
Can Migraines Damage the Brain?
However, there is abundant evidence now that migraine sufferers with a history of aura are at a twofold increased risk of stroke. These strokes are of the ischemic type, which are caused when a blockage in a brain blood vessel results in a lack of blood supply to a region of the brain (in contrast to hemorrhagic strokes, which are due to a ruptured blood vessel).

Update on April 21, 2011
http://healthinformationworld.com/2011/04/migraine-could-increase-the-risk-of-stroke/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=migraine-could-increase-the-risk-of-stroke
All of society, ranging from youngsters, tykes, women, and elder folks usually feel migraine headache caused by varied causes. Frequent migraine may in reality be a risk issue which will cause stroke.

So I'm not sure which one I believe.

As reported by the medicalnewstoday, migraine typically usually caused by allergies, over bright lights, noise, smell, stress, irregular sleep patterns, active or passive smoking, late meals, alcohol, fluctuations within the menstrual cycle, contraception, hormone fluctuations throughout menopause , foods containing tyramine (red wine, cheese, smoked fish, chicken liver, and a few beans), monosodium glutamate (MSG), or nitrates (such as meat and hot dogs). And conjointly different foods like chocolate, nuts, peanut butter, avocados, bananas, oranges, onions, dairy merchandise, and fermented foods or pickles.

“Migraine may be a risk issue for stroke,” said Dr. Ashwin M. Rumawas, a nerve specialist. in line with Dr. Ashwin, migraines are in the middle of complaints of photophobia (fear of light), sonophobia (fear of loud noises), vertigo (sick head spinning), shaking, shivering, flushed face, cold sweat, vomiting, decreased ability to talk and in the middle of a weakening of the body, it will increase one’s risk of stroke.

“Better take care once you are usually attacked by migraine, as a result of it may well be an element which will increase your risk of stroke,” said the neurologist.

Dr. Ashwin absolutely make a case for the danger factors which will cause stroke, namely:

Which can’t be changed or can not be avoided,
1. Age
2. Gender
3. Hereditary
4. Racial or ethnic

Which can be changed and might be avoided,
1. Hypertension
2. Diabetes mellitus
3. Smoking
4. History of previous stroke. somebody who had suffered a stroke and later recovered, having a high risk for a stroke back.
5. Heart abnormalities
6. Anatomical abnormalities of blood vessels
7. Cholesterol disorders
8. Obesity or overweight
9. Endocarditis (heart infection)
10. Meningitis (infection of the brain)
11. Migraine
12. Blood disorders (Trombositas, leukemia, and others)

To prevent stroke, what ought to be done immediately as a precaution are:

A. Organize a healthy eating patern
1. Eat foods low in saturated fat (cholesterol). it’s advisable to consume whole grains like brown rice, corn, oats (whole wheat), kedelei, walnuts and cashews.
2. Consume low-fat milk and made in protein, zinc, and B12. Tuna, salmon, fish-rich ocean EPA and DHA.
3. Consumption of foods that are made in vitamins and antioxidants, like vegetables, fruits and seeds.
4. scale back intake of sodium (monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrate, NaCl)
5. Minimize foods high in saturated fats, scale back intake of trans fatty acids like cookies, fried foods and butter.
6. Prioritizing the fiber-rich foods, protein, vegetable
7. Avoid low-calorie foods (empty calories) and low nutritional quality, like candy, krupuk and snacks.

B. Exercising frequently, doing physical activity with aerobic values like walking, cycling, swimming, and others.
C. Stop smoking, avoid the active and passive smokers
D. Avoid alcohol and drug abuse
E. Maintaining correct weight, to avoid an unhealthy eating patern with regular exercise.
F. Avoid the employment of oral contraceptives for ladies smokers or that has different risk factors.
G. scale back stress, have regular rest, and sleep half dozen to eight hours/ day.
H. Regular health checks, managing diet and regular medication.