Migraine sufferers are more prone to hangovers

While a headache after a night of drinking for the general public can be quite general, new studies show that hangovers may be more frequently in migraine sufferers. Researchers at the Jefferson headache Center developed a model to study the effects of alcohol on rats who suffer recurrent migraines, compared to rats that do not get headaches. The results, which were presented at Neuroscience 2009, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, in Chicago, are quite fascinating.

Migraine headaches are associated with hypersensitivity to light, sound and light touch on the head and face. The researchers measured rats sensitivity to touch around the eye in four different test groups: two groups received repeated dural simulation to cause headache, followed by an oral ingestion of saline or alcohol (the equivalent of one to two shots of liquor). Two control groups received no inflammatory stimulation, but the same each received oral intake of salt or alcohol.

The rats that received the stimulation followed with alcohol increased pain sensitivity after 4-6 hours, while the control groups had no change in pain sensitivity. The researchers made sure that dehydration and alcohol impurities were excluded as causes of increased sensitivity by hydrating the rats and ensuring the alcohol was free of contaminants.

According to the study leader Dr. Michael Oshinsky, Ph.d., Assistant professor of Neurology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, "the alcohol itself or a metabolite must be causing the hangover-like headache." Dr. Oshinsky ultimately concluded that "these data confirm the clinical observation that people with migraine are more sensitive to alcohol-induced headaches."

For more information about the causes and treatments for Hangover headache symptoms, visit www.headaches.org.

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Veterans prone to headaches

While our in honor of the brave soldiers who fought so hard for our country's Veterans ' Day reminds, let's not forget that many of them still today fight in a different way yet. A new study from the University of California, San Diego, suggests that veterans who physical injuries or developed post-traumatic stress disorder after combat in Iraq or Afghanistan can suffer from recurring headaches.

According to the study, 308 veterans surveyed, were those who had suffered injuries against greater risk of the development of the headaches of the migraine. At the same time, those who had screened positive for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) elevated rates of migraine and tension-type headache. Overall, vets with physical injuries only had more than twice the risk of recurring headaches as those without such injuries. The risk was four times higher among veterans with PTSD than those without it.

In addition, the researchers found that bodily injury veterans more prone to migraines only, created while PTSD was linked to migraine and tension-type headache. The study authors write that PTSD can be linked to headaches because psychological stress lead headache by natural physiological reactions of the body to stress can.

Regardless of what the cause of headaches in veterans, but the researchers say that this link between wartime injury and recurring headache suggests that veterans of comprehensive evaluations of their physical, mental and emotional health can benefit in order to find the best treatment options for them.

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