American women are more prone to migraine than their Asian counterparts.
Medical researches showed that in the United States, white women have the highest frequency of migraine, while Asian women have the lowest.
The female-to-male ratio increases from 2.5:1 at puberty to 3.5:1 at age 40 years, after which it declines. The rate of migraine headaches in females of reproductive age has increased over the last 20 years, studies showed.
Migraine headaches affect 17% of females and 6% of males in the United States. Before puberty, boys and girls get migraines at about the same rate, although boys may get them slightly more often.
In individuals older than 12 years, the frequency of migraines increases in both males and females. The frequency declines in individuals older than 40 years.
The causes of migraine headaches are not clearly understood. In the 1940s, medical researches believed that a migraine begins with a spasm, or partial closing, of the arteries leading to the main part of the brain called the cerebrum.
The first spasm decreases blood supply to part of the brain, which causes the aura (lights, haze, zig-zag lines, or other symptoms) that some people experience. These same arteries then become too relaxed, which increases blood flow and causes pain.
About 30 years later, the chemicals dopamine and serotonin, both known as neurotransmitters, were found to play a role in migraine headaches.
Dopamine and serotonin are normally found in the brain, but they can cause blood vessels to act in uncharacteristic ways if they are present in abnormal amounts or if the blood vessels are unusually sensitive to them.
Together, these 2 theories have come to be known as the neurovascular theory of migraine, and it is presently believed that both theories provide insight into the causes of headache.
Many drugs have been discovered to ease the pain of this still “unknown” illness. Always at hand are pain relievers like Fioricet, cheapest online through drugstoretm.com. Fioricet is a pain reliever and sedative. It is used to relieve mild to moderate pain and tension headaches.
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