Flunarizine effects on oxidative stress in migraine patients
This is interesting and ties in with an article several weeks back in the Updates. In this study, flunarizine, used for migraines, lowers the levels of oxidative damage (as measured by TBARS, a functional marker for lipid peroxidation from oxidative stress) in migraine patients. Couple this with the finding several weeks ago that patients with a heart defect (patent foramen ovale) that was surgically repaired had 50% less migraines. I am starting to see a pattern developing for migraines where oxidative stress or lack of protective factors leads to the disruptions in cellular machinary via the mitachondria, subsequent damage to the lipid membrane and then increased neuronal excitability leading to seizures (of which migraine is a part of).
Flunarizine effects on oxidative stress in migraine patients – Cephalalgia, Vol 24, Issue 7, pp. 528-532 (Abstract) –