Research suggests that middle-aged people who suffer from migraine with aura are at higher risk to develop Parkinson's disease in later life.
A migraine is normally a severe headache, which is felt at the front and sides of the head. Migraine affects millions of people across the globe and is amongst the top 10 debilitating medical conditions.
Both women and men suffer from migraine; however, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that women are more likely to have migraine when compared to men.
Scientists suggest that migraine can be of two types: migraine with aura that shows some signs such as flashing lights, migraine without aura that occurs without any symptoms at all. Overall, 33 percent of the people suffering from migraine had symptoms.
Ann I. Scher, of Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, the lead author of the study, indicates that scientists agree that migraines are also associated with heart and cerebrovascular diseases. The latest study also found that migraine is linked with Parkinson's disease, which affects thousands of people across the globe.
To understand the link between migraine and Parkinson's disease, the researchers examined data of over 5,600 people aged between 33 and 65 years over a 25-year period. At the start of the study, 3,924 participants reported to have no headaches at all, 1,028 participants had headaches but with no symptoms of migraine, 430 participants reported to have migraine with aura and 238 participants had migraine without aura.
The researchers also examined the participants for any symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The study revealed that 2.4 percent of the participants who suffered from migraine with aura also had Parkinson's disease.
Individuals suffering from migraine with aura were 3.6 times more expected to show symptoms of Parkinson's disease. On the other hand, people with migraine without aura were 2.3 times likely to have symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
The researchers report that overall, about 20 percent of the participants suffering from migraine with aura had Parkinsonian symptoms ,while 12.6 percent people with migraine without aura did not have any symptoms.
"A dysfunction in the brain messenger dopamine is common to both Parkinson's and RLS, and has been hypothesized as a possible cause of migraine for many years. Symptoms of migraine such as excessive yawning, nausea and vomiting are thought to be related to dopamine receptor stimulation," says Scher, with Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, who is also the study author.
Scher also suggests that more research is needed to understand the association between migraine and Parkinson's disease via genetic studies.
The findings of the study have been published in the journal Neurology.
