Another Clue into How Migraine Works

A study in JAMA published in August confirms yet another probable link in the migraine chain – something called vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP).

VIP is a peptide hormone found naturally in the body. As an article in AJMC states, “Once the trigeminovascular system is activated, afferent and efferent nerve fibers release various VIPs, which stimulate G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).” The trigeminovascular system, the neurons in the trigeminal nerve in your face, are often associated with headache. So what do VIPs have to do with headache pain? Are they just incidental, or are they an important part of the migraine attack?

This particular study simply injected patients with VIPs to see if it would result in migraine headache symptoms. (Don’t worry – patients were warned that they might get a headache. But they didn’t know if they were getting a VIP injection or a placebo.)

71% of patients injected with VIP (and 5% – one patient with placebo) did indeed develop headache. This would seem to confirm that VIP does actually play an important role in the headache chain reaction.

But why? It could have to do with the messages VIP sends to blood vessels, causing them to dilate. Vasodilation does often occur in migraine attacks.

The purpose of this study was to see if VIP may be a target for future migraine treatments. In fact, several pharmaceutical companies were providing funding to some of the researchers in the study.

As we have discussed before, there are many things that happen in the body during a migraine attack. Finding one link in the chain, or one part of the puzzle, may help us find better treatments. But it’s probably a long way from truly understanding the root of migraine, and discovering a “cure”.

For more, check out this article from AJMC: Study Suggests Vasoactive Intestinal Polypeptide May Induce Migraine