I have read several articles in recent days discussing the likely link between migraine headaches and Alzheimer’s disease. A great deal of research suggests that migraine headaches are a risk factor for Alzheimer’s.
I experienced my first migraine as a teenager. The headaches continued until I reached age 45. In my fifties, the migraines returned for a few years. My mother also suffered from migraines.
When I found an article written by Kylie Petrarca, RN, BSN, the Director of Education at the Association of Migraine Disorders, about the link between migraines and Alzheimer’s, I wondered if my migraines put me in a higher risk for Alzheimer’s. Kylie’s article points out three studies that clearly showed there is a link. In one study, “men and women with a history of migraine were three times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s.”
My curiosity led me down a bit of a rabbit hole. What causes this link?
My recent PET scan showed a significant amount of beta-amyloid, a protein that accumulates in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. The beta-amyloid shows as white spots in the PET scan. In 2018, a study was published that reported on research to “identify the prevalence of white matter hyperintensities among migraine patients and to determine the correlation between white matter hyperintensities and migraine severity, type and duration.” If you suffer from migraines, I encourage you to read this article. What fascinates me is that this research determined that the severity and duration of a migraine correlates to the prevalence of white spots in the brain. For example, the number of white spots increased in direct relation to your migraine’s “intensity of nausea, disability, tolerability during attack and age.”
My migraine pain was extremely intolerable and almost always accompanied by nausea. Now, I wonder if the likelihood of me getting AD could have been reduced if my migraines were treated better.
I must continue down the research rabbit hole.