Scientific basis of migraine: speculation on the relationship to cyclic vomiting.
The pathogenesis of migraine is reviewed. Migraine is a brain disorder that is activated by various triggers working on a susceptibility to attacks, in part genetically determined. The frequency of attacks is determined by triggers working on a threshold that determines excitability of brain. The mechanisms of the attack may involve both cortical and brain-stem structures and their dysfunction. It remains to be determined if cortical or brain-stem centers "generate the attack." Because migraine involves severe nausea and vomiting, this review contains speculations on similarities in the mechanisms of migraine and cyclic vomiting.
Welch
K M
KM
University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City 66160, USA.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000503:physiopathology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010507:Periodicity; D013577:Syndrome; D014839:Vomiting / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology