Current treatments and research in the management of acute migraine attacks

摘要

MIGRAINE is a common, chronic disabling condition that affects 15 per cent of the UK adult population and affects women more than men by a ratio of 3:1. It is estimated that over 100,000 people are absent from work or school every working day in the UK because of migraine. It has long been thought that migraine sufferers have a genetic predisposition that is in some way activated by physiological events. This has now been confirmed, with research showing that mutations in various genes cause abnormal ion channels in various areas of the brain, which determine the type of migraine likely to be experienced.