Weight-loss surgery can reduce incidence and severity of migraine headaches, according to results from a study of 24 severely obese patients who suffered from migraines, reported by the L.A. Times.
Researchers already know that obesity intensifies migraines, though the exact cause is still unclear. Some believe inflammation associated with obesity may cause more headaches, while others think fat cells may release estrogen which triggers the migraines.
Dale S. Bond of the Miriam Hospital in Providence, R.I., and Brown University and his colleagues looked at 24 patients, 88 percent of them female. On average, the patients suffered from migraine attacks on 11 days out of every 90, and half of the patients reported the headaches to interfere with work and daily living. The patients received either Lap-Band surgery or gastric bypass surgery.
Six months after the initial surgery, the patients had lost 66 pounds on average. The average number of migraine headache days was reduced from 11 days to 6.7 days per every 90, and only 12.5 percent of patients reported headaches that interfered significantly with daily life.
Read the L.A. Times report on migraines.
Read more on weight loss surgery:
-Bariatric Surgery Can Save Money in Treating Diabetes
-Study: Lap-Band Surgery Caused Complications in 40% of Patients After 12 Years
Researchers already know that obesity intensifies migraines, though the exact cause is still unclear. Some believe inflammation associated with obesity may cause more headaches, while others think fat cells may release estrogen which triggers the migraines.
Dale S. Bond of the Miriam Hospital in Providence, R.I., and Brown University and his colleagues looked at 24 patients, 88 percent of them female. On average, the patients suffered from migraine attacks on 11 days out of every 90, and half of the patients reported the headaches to interfere with work and daily living. The patients received either Lap-Band surgery or gastric bypass surgery.
Six months after the initial surgery, the patients had lost 66 pounds on average. The average number of migraine headache days was reduced from 11 days to 6.7 days per every 90, and only 12.5 percent of patients reported headaches that interfered significantly with daily life.
Read the L.A. Times report on migraines.
Read more on weight loss surgery:
-Bariatric Surgery Can Save Money in Treating Diabetes
-Study: Lap-Band Surgery Caused Complications in 40% of Patients After 12 Years