Neurology Advisor magazine cites migraine research by Borkum

Neurology Advisor magazine cited research on migraines by Jonathan Borkum, an adjunct associate professor of psychology at the University of Maine. At least 95% of people with migraines have two or more common triggers, and the effects of those triggers have been traced back to essential normalities in energy metabolism, according to Borkum. “Certainly, the metabolic theory shifts the focus from the attack itself to the sequence of events, potentially beginning weeks beforehand, that culminate in an attack,” he said. Triggers known to induce migraine attacks include psychological and physiological stress, lack of sleep, noise, and many components of diet and pharmacological therapies, the article states. The most common unifying factor among triggers is their “propensity to generate oxidative stress,” said Borkum, who added that oxidative stress is the central disruptive process in migraine metabolism, initiated by a decline in brain energy. Focusing on metabolic causes of migraines could lead to a new approach to treatment, especially earlier intervention. “The metabolic theory of migraines shifts the focus from thinking of the migraine attack as a disorder that needs to be suppressed to thinking of the attack as an attempt by the brain to restore homeostasis after a threat to its functioning,” said Borkum.