INTRODUCTION

Migraine: "A headache that can cause severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on one side of the head. It's often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound." - Mayo Clinic

What is a migraine?

A migraine is a debilitating headache that can affect people in many different ways. Here is a short video from the Mayo Clinic.

On average, 12% of the population in the United States suffer from migraines.

What happens during a migraine attack?

Migraines can be broken down into four stages: Prodrome, Aura, Attack, and Post-drome. During the prodrome phase 1-2 days before an attack, an individual may experience symptoms such as food cravings, mood changes, neck stiffness, and frequent yawning. The migraine will then transition into the Aura phase which can occur before or during the migraine. It is a gradual build-up over time and can last upwards of 60 minutes. During the aura phase, an individual may experience seeing bright spots/shapes, vision loss, weakness and numbness in half of the body, and difficulty speaking or processing information. The migraine then moves into the attack phase which can last anywhere from 4-72 hours. During an attack, an individual may experience throbbing pain in one or both sides of the head, light sensitivity, sound aversion, and nausea or vomiting. Once the attack has finished, it moves to the post-drome phase which leaves an individual exhausted and confused.

Information sourced from: Mayo Clinic & Cleveland Clinic

What are the different kind of migraines?

10 different types of migraine attacks can occur in individuals. The first three types are migraines with or without auras or with a brainstem aura. Auras with a migraine signify a warning signal to the body that an attack is imminent. Migraines without aura are the most commonly afflicted. Brainstem auras are rare and affect 1 in 10 people who get migraines with an aura. Chronic migraines occur when a headache occurs on 15 or more days per month, with at least 8 of those 15 having migraine symptoms. This type of migraine will develop in 2 in 100 people who have episodic migraines. Abdominal migraines affect 4 in 100 children and typically fade by adulthood. These migraines come with severe abdomen pain, vomiting, and generally feeling sick during the attack. Additionally, cyclical vomiting syndrome is another type of migraine similar to abdominal migraines. Hemiplegic migraines affect and paralyze 1/2 of the body. Menstrual migraines occur in tandem with women's menstrual cycles. The final type of headache that can affect individuals is medication overuse headaches. While painkillers are helpful, overusing them to treat minor pain can cause migraines.

Information sourced from: The Migraine Trust

Interesting Facts About Migraines

According to Scripps, Migraine headaches are one of the most common medical conditions, affecting over 20% of the population, but also one of the most commonly misdiagnosed.

Some surprising facts about migraines:

Migraines can be prevented
- Over-the-counter medications, botox, and monthly medication injections are just some of the few ways to prevent attacks.
A sinus headache or a tension headache is likely a migraine
- Always take the rule, if your headache is bad enough to call a doctor, it is likely a migraine. Additionally, some nerves affecting migraines are located near the sinuses.
Most people don't see an aura with a migraine
- Aura only affects about 10% of migraine sufferers which causes visual disturbances. Whereas, Nausea, light sensitivity, and sound sensitivity are common symptoms of migraine sufferers.
Foods don't trigger migraines
- Hormones do.
Frequent headaches aren't normal
- Migraines occur in two classes, chronic (>15 days a month) or episodic which is less often.

Information sourced from: Scripps

Help! I have migraines, what can I do?

Some of the best home remedy treatments for migraines are as follows:

Ice packs:

Ice packs applied to the forehead, scalp, and neck can help relieve tension. The coolness of the ice helps reduce the blood pressure in the head and can provide some much-needed relief

OTC medications

Ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and naproxen can provide relief and don't require a prescription!

Caffeine

Can cause restrictions in the blood vessels in your brain and provide temporary relief. This doesn't always work though!

Lockdown in a quiet and dark room

Getting away from bright light and loud noises can help speed up your recovery time

Magnesium

Migraines can be assuaged with magnesium, either in foods high in this mineral or through supplements!

Learn more about migraine home remedies

Want to participate in a clinical trial?

As of April 29, 2024, there are currently 41 open studies for migraines varying from botox injection efficacy to medication overuse treatment strategies. There are still so many unknowns when it comes to migraines, participating in clinical trials can help unlock the key to solving this debilitating disease.

By participating in a clinical trial you can gain the following benefits:

Learn more about your condition/disease
Play an active role in your health
Help researchers find new ways to treat
Benefit future generations

Learn more about available clinical trials

Questions of Interest

For this project, the questions will be looked at concerning chronic migraine sufferers.

Do genders have common symptoms or experience unique symptoms in their respective groups?
- Unfortunately, due to the limitations of the data set, this information was unable to be analyzed. This is something that should be added to data sets however due to the nature of the data it may or may not be able to be added.
Do patients have common symptoms?
- The common symptoms that seemed strongly linked are phonophobia and photophobia as well as location, character, and intensity. The problem is the dataset did not clearly define what each location classification number meant.
Do treatment plans or medications vary between age groups?
- From the initial EDA, the medications across all age groups seemed to be relatively consistent, with topiramate being the highest prescribed across all age groups.
What medication combinations achieve remission more frequently?
- Unfortunately, all of the migraine sets were for chronic migraine sufferers, nobody got better. But the medications that were prescribed the most are amitryptiline and topiramate.
Are weak bilateral pulses associated with uniform or disjointed migraine locations in the brain?
- Weak bilateral pulses were the most common case for migraine sufferers, but it did not have an impact on which location the migraine was focused in the brain.
Are clinical studies producing more successful or less successful outcomes on average?
- This dataset was tricky to work with and was a nightmare to conclude from. There was no clear guideline on what the outcomes were from the study, just the full title and how many participants were there.
Based on the location of migraines, can that be used to predict future migraine locations?
- Almost every point in the data set had the same location for migraines and it was difficult to analyze whether or not any future migraine would be in a different location.
Can you determine a migraine type given the presented symptoms
- Was able to determine a decision tree to classify based on the frequency and duration of the migraine. If the frequency of a migraine was greater than 5 days, it likely is accompanied by an aura
What do the CT and MRI results of chronic migraine sufferers have in common?
- Unable to determine what the CT results were, but determined that weak bilateral pulses were common in both.
Do people who have an overweight or obese BMI number have more severe or less severe migraines? Could this data be used to identify future migraine sufferers?
- Yes, there seems to be a strong relationship between BMI and migraine frequency. Migraines are more common in individuals who are overweight.