As temperatures rise, the chances of suffering from migraine attacks also increase. This link is confirmed by a new study conducted by a group of researchers from the medical faculties of the University of Cincinnati and the Mount Sinai Institute in collaboration with “Errex Inc”, an agency that aims to investigate the effects of meteorological changes on health of citizens. “Climate change is one of the most common triggers for migraines,” says Vincent Martin, director of the Headache Center at the University of Cincinnati and president of the National Headache Foundation and first author of the study whose study results will be presented at the 66th annual meeting of the American Headache Society, which is currently being held in San Diego, California.
I study
The researchers cross-referenced over 70,000 data from the headache diaries of around 700 migraine patients with regional meteorological surveys and discovered that for every 5 degree increase in temperature, the chance of the onset of any type of headache increases by around 6%. of the head, and migraines in particular. “But the study also brings out another very important fact not only for the mechanism of migraine but also from a therapeutic point of view”, highlights Antonio Russo, full professor of Neurology and director of the Headache Center of the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli . “In fact, the authors of the research investigated whether the use of new drugs for the treatment of migraines could somehow protect patients from the negative effects of temperature changes,” he adds. Specifically, it concerns Fremanezumab, a molecule from the class of monoclonal antibodies capable of blocking CGRP (peptide related to the calcitonin gene) placed on the market in recent years as a migraine prevention therapy. This class of drugs blocks a protein known as CGRP, which is responsible for transmitting pain from the arteries of the meninges to the brain, as typically occurs during migraine attacks. “Prevention therapies, unlike attack therapies which are taken when the headache has already appeared, are aimed at reducing the frequency and intensity of migraine attacks,” explains Russo. Specifically, Fremanezumab, administered via subcutaneous injections every 30 days or every 3 months depending on the therapeutic program closest to the patients’ needs, has proven to be able to counteract the effect of climate changes on the onset of migraine attacks. “This study is the first to suggest that migraine-specific therapies that block CGRP can prevent climate-associated headaches,” says Fred Cohen, study co-author and researcher at the Mount Sinai Institute in New York.
Climate and health
“What we found is that increased temperature was a significant factor in migraine onset in all regions of the United States, and if the findings are confirmed in future studies, drug therapy could potentially help many people whose attacks Migraines are triggered by weather conditions,” says Martin. Al Peterlin, former chief meteorologist at the US Department of Agriculture and co-author of the study comments: “Hippocrates, the father of medicine, believed that climate and medicine were intimately linked and a couple of thousand years later, we are showing that climate is important for human health.” The data is also confirmed by Russo who adds “our patients frequently tell us that very hot days, low temperatures, mugginess, humidity or wind are factors that trigger migraine attacks which are recognizable and predictable but which, Unfortunately, they are not always able or able to escape. The most innovative data of the study, due to the repercussions it may have on patients’ lives, is that therapy with monoclonal antibodies against CGRP will be able to increasingly reduce the negative impact – the so-called burden – of migraine on their work, family activities and social which ultimately means improving the quality of life of patients, which all our clinical and research efforts must aim at.”
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