The pain of a migraine headache is often described as an intense pulsing or throbbing pain in one area of the head. It is often accompanied by extreme sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, and vomiting. Migraine is three times more common in women than in men.

Some individuals can predict the onset of a migraine because it is preceded by an "aura," visual disturbances that appear as flashing lights, zig-zag lines or a temporary loss of vision. People with migraine tend to have recurring attacks triggered by a lack of food or sleep, exposure to light, or hormonal irregularities (only in women).

Anxiety, stress, or relaxation after stress can also be triggers. For many years, scientists believed that migraines were linked to the dilation and constriction of blood vessels in the head. Investigators now believe that migraine is caused by inherited abnormalities in genes that control the activities of certain cell populations in the brain.

Treatment for Migraine Headaches

There are two ways to approach the treatment of migraine headache with drugs: prevent the attacks, or relieve the symptoms during the attacks.

Many people with migraine use both approaches by taking medications originally developed for epilepsy and depression to prevent future attacks, and treating attacks when they happen with drugs called triptans that relieve pain and restore function.

Hormone therapy may help some women whose migraines seem to be linked to their menstrual cycle. Stress management strategies, such as exercise, relaxation, biofeedback, and other therapies designed to help limit discomfort, may also reduce the occurrence and severity of migraine attacks.

Prognosis for Migraine Headaches

Taking a combination of drugs to prevent and treat migraine attacks when they happen helps most people with migraine to limit the disabling effects of these headaches. Women whose migraine attacks occur in association with their menstrual cycle are likely to have fewer attacks and milder symptoms after menopause.

Research on Migraine Headaches

One group of researchers treated 49 migraine patients with large amounts of vitamin B2 (400 mg per day). Both the frequency and severity of migraines decreased by more than two-thirds.

In a follow-up three-month, double-blind trial, the same researchers reported that 59% of patients assigned to receive vitamin B2 had at least a 50% reduction in the number of headache days, whereas only 15% of those assigned to receive a placebo experienced that degree of improvement. The effects of vitamin B2 were most pronounced during the final month of the trial.

Reference for Migraine Headaches Article

Schoenen J, Lenaerts M, Bastings E. High-dose riboflavin as a prophylactic treatment of migraine: results of an open pilot study. Cephalalgia 1994;14:328–9.

Schoenen J, Jacquy J, Lenaerts M. Effectiveness of high-dose riboflavin in migraine prophylaxis. A randomized controlled trial. Neurology 1998;50:466–70.

Schoenen J, Jacquy, Lenaerts M. High-dose riboflavin as a novel prophylactic antimigraine therapy: results from a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Cephalalgia 1997;17:244.

National Institutes of Health