Although only 1-2% of the global population suffers from chronic migraines, the disorder is known to be debilitating and there isn’t much known about the exact causes of these migraines. Migraines are also hard to treat as they don’t respond to most acetaminophen-based headaches medications. One treatment that is currently on the rise is the use of medical marijuana.
Marijuana has been transformed from an outlawed drug in the 1970s to a drug used to aid in many medical treatments. Such benefits include reducing anxiety, helps to slow tumor growth and kill cancer cells, it helps to stimulate hunger spanning from cancer patients to those suffering from AIDS or eating disorders, and even helps relax the muscles of those suffering from MS. With that being said, there is no doubt that marijuana has some outstanding medical benefits. But what about migraines?
A study that was published in Brain Sciences, was conducted in Israel testing the effect of medical cannabis on chronic migraine patients. The results of this study shown that medical cannabis was successful in reducing the long-term migraine frequency in 60% of treated patients. Furthermore, researchers explain the potential reasoning as to why medical cannabis produced these results in migraine patients,” …Mechanistically, endocannabinoids have been shown to have an inhibitory effect on serotonin receptors in vivo, which is shown to modulate pain and emetic responses,”.
Although more trials need to be conducted to eventually transform this study into a clinical setting, there is a lot of strong evidence that medical cannabis can be used to treat migraines.
Source: https://www.ajmc.com/view/study-assesses-impact-of-androgen-levels-on-male-migraineurs
This is so interesting. My sister gets migraines and it is so sad to see because she can sometimes miss up to 3 days of school and life because of it. I was also shocked to hear that only 1-2% of people get chronic migraines because I feel like they are more common a topic of conversation!
ReplyDeleteI can definitely relate to your sister! It can be debilitating, having to stay in a quiet dark room just to get some momentary relief. Its awesome to see the trials that are going on in order to help those with chronic migraines since there's not many treatments out there right now.
DeleteHopefully the trials can conclude that medical cannabis can help those with chronic migraines. Seeing as those who suffer with migraines do not have a clear treatment this could be quite life changing for them and help alleviate some pain.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who gets migraines, it definitely inspires some hope that a potential treatment is on the rise. A migraine shouldn't have the power to keep someone from their everyday life.
DeleteI have an aunt that gets severe migraines and seeing how they affect her is upsetting knowing that the treatments available to her don't have long term effects. More research should be done because this advancement would really change people's lives.
ReplyDeleteMorianna Saint-Cyr