Experts Locate New Target for Migraine Drugs

NEW YORK —  Scientists say they might have located the source of migraine headaches, a finding that suggests a new target for drugs to stop the attacks.

Brain scans of nine migraine patients, studied within six hours of the start of attacks, showed persistent over-activity in the brain stem, researchers report.

The scans revealed a possible migraine “generator” at the point where the brain stem joins the midbrain, said Dr. Hans Christoph Diener, chairman of the neurology department at the University of Essen in Germany.

Attacks might result from the generator’s losing normal control over brain-stem centers that regulate perception of pain and the expanding and contracting of blood vessels, he said.

Over-activity in those centers might in turn lead to migraine symptoms, said Diener. The work suggests looking for new anti-migraine drugs that not only relieve the pain but also suppress the generator to cut off migraine attacks at the root, he said in a telephone interview.