Maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel?

At least they are working on it:

http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/understanding-migraine-533316-5.html?ic=6018

I just came on to post a link to a different article about the same study! Interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38905007/ns/health-pain_center?gt1=43001


That is basically the same.

Mary Anne

Hey guys, I posted this on Sunday and was excited about it, especailly as they mention Glutamate which is also implicated in FMS and IBS.
But Teri has written it all out for us, and it seems that, although it is a step in the right direction. She said no chance of a cure in our lifetime. Now given she is 6 years younger than me......dashed my hopes and my family's with it.

So its a start, but dont get too excited.....

I read the news articles, including the one posted here. Then I paid for a copy of the full journal article written by the researchers. After I did that, I emailed a couple of Migraine specialists and researchers and asked some questions. That journal article was one of the most complex I've ever read, so I had questions.

Did my best to get the main points of the journal article into my article in terms we can all follow. IMO, this is REALLY good news. Will it lead to a cure? Maybe, eventually. We now know about this genetic connection, which is the first identified for Migraine with and without aura, the more common forms of Migraine as opposed to the more rare forms such as hemiplegic and basilar-type Migraine. We also have information on genes associated with familial hemiplegic Migraine. Still, researchers tell me that there are more genes to be identified.

Here's my take on that light at the end of the tunnel:
The researchers who work on genetics and those who work on treatments aren't the same researchers. There's some overlap, but the background, training, and skills for those two kinds of research differ. Same thing applies if we look at researchers looking for an eventual cure and researchers looking for new treatments. So, I see two paths of research that will continue concurrently:

genetics/pathophysiology/eventual cure: This is ongoing and unquestionably important. This research came from an international collaboration of researchers from 40 or 50 research centers over the world. They're part of an organization, the International Headache Genetics Consortium. This research has more long-term implications.

treatments: This research has more short-term implications, and will probably produce results that we will see. As more is understood about the genetics and pathophysiology of Migraine, these researchers can work to develop better treatments. In particular, treatments that are actually developed specifically for Migraine prevention. You probably all know that, at this point, there isn't even ONE medication on the market that was originally developed for Migraine prevention. We use hand-me-down drugs that were developed for other conditions, then found to be effective for prevention for some of us.

I don't want anyone to think I was saying that this new research isn't hope or light at the end of the tunnel. I think it could well lead to new, more effective treatments during our lives. I don't, however, see a cure for the disease being developed that soon.

Hope this all made sense!
Teri

It does, Teri. Thank you!

Thank you Teri!!

It does make sense Teri, and I didnt mean to make it sound as if you were negative about it.
I am so glad you have made more sense of it than I could.
I just felt really hopeful when I read it. I guess it was when you said, not in our lifetime....and you are younger than me...
That brought me down to earth.,......

I am still trying to find out about the Glutamine thing in regards to its association also with Fibro and IBS.
That, to us, makes it a little more than the so called "co morbid".

Thanks Teri. I posted your article on my page....Good work.

You're welcome!

AuntieBubbs wrote:It does, Teri. Thank you!

You're welcome too!

estre004 wrote:Thank you Teri!!

Pen,

Glad it made sense. I could feel your disappointment when I replied to you on Facebook, and I fully understood it.

I wasn't aiming directly at you when I said I didn't want anyone to think I was being negative. It's just that I know how much this kind of news can get our hopes up, and I wanted people to realize that I think this really IS reason to be hopeful even though I don't think most of us here will live to see a cure. Maybe a way to put it is to say that I think the cup is half full rather than half empty.

On the comorbid point, there will probably be genetic links found between SOME conditions, but not all. Some are just going to be comorbid -- occurring simultaneously, but neither causing the other -- with no tangible link found.

Given that it took until 2003 to finish mapping the human genome, I think researchers are making pretty good progress with the genetics of specific diseases.

Sending you a hug!
Teri

pen wrote:It does make sense Teri, and I didnt mean to make it sound as if you were negative about it.
I am so glad you have made more sense of it than I could.
I just felt really hopeful when I read it. I guess it was when you said, not in our lifetime....and you are younger than me...
That brought me down to earth.,......

I am still trying to find out about the Glutamine thing in regards to its association also with Fibro and IBS.
That, to us, makes it a little more than the so called "co morbid".

Thanks Teri. I posted your article on my page....Good work.

Teri,

We are good. Yes very disappointed, and I guess I should know better.
Your help/work is always appreciated.