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        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies >> why treatment same for migraines and clusters?
        
(Message started by: Radha on Apr 8^th, 2006, 10:41pm)

Title: why treatment same for migraines and clusters?
Post by Radha on Apr 8^th, 2006, 10:41pm

i was wondering why the meds are the same, like relpax and imitrex for both migraine and cluster when they are not the same kind of headache? they dont have any similarities right?
radha

Title: Re: why treatment same for migraines and clusters?
Post by BikerBob on Apr 8^th, 2006, 11:16pm

The similarity is that migraine and cluster headaches involve vasodilation of the cranial blood vessels and that the common abortives of both are powerful vasoconstrictors.

BB

Title: Re: why treatment same for migraines and clusters?
Post by Bob_Johnson on Apr 9^th, 2006, 8:15am

Adding to BB's thought: Virtually all research funds are directed to migraine because the incidence of cluster headache is so small. Therefore, most of the meds we use have been adopted from those developed to treat migraine.

There seems to be some shift away from this historical pattern but funding will continue to be the driving force in shaping both basic research and drug development.

Peter Goadsby's ground breaking research which identified the two parts of our brain which appear to be the triggers for these two headache forms also reinforced the idea that much of the neurological processes are shared, hence, the sharing of many meds.

Title: Re: why treatment same for migraines and clusters?
Post by floridian on Apr 9^th, 2006, 8:34pm

Clusters seem to start in the hypothalamus, which is different from migraine. But once they are started, many of the pain transmission mechanisms are identical to migraine. Triptans and other medicines shut off the pain (which is good) but don't have much effect on the hypothalamus.

Title: Re: why treatment same for migraines and clusters?
Post by Radha on Apr 9^th, 2006, 10:26pm

thanks for your explanations, and taking the time to reply, radha