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Scientists spot 'changes' in migraine patients' brainsDate: 20/11/2007 09:27:46
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People who suffer from migraine have differences in the sensory areas of the brain to those who are free from the disorder, researchers have found.
Experts at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital found that part of the cortex area of the brain, which helps to process sensory information such as pain, was on average 21 per cent thicker in people with migraine.
Dr Nouchine Hadjikhani, from the hospital's Martinos Centre for Biomedical Imaging, said that repeated migraine attacks may lead to, or be the result of, these structural changes.
"Most of these people had been suffering from migraines since childhood, so the long-term over-stimulation of the sensory fields in the cortex could explain these changes," she claimed.
"It's also possible that people who develop migraines are naturally more sensitive to stimulation."
Dr Hadjikhani added that the findings, which are published in Neurology journal, may explain why people who suffer from migraine often also have other pain-related disorders, such as back and jaw pain.
Nearly six million people in the UK are estimated to be affected by migraine, which usually begins between a person's teenage years and their 40s.
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