Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SENSOMIG (IMPACT OF SENSORY AND STRESSFUL STIMULI IN A PRECLINICAL MODEL OF CHRONIC MIGRAINE)
Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2024-08-31
Migraine, a common disabling illness, affects 18 % of the global population. Migraine attacks are recurrent and impair the quality of life of patients. Unfortunately, clinical research into this neurological condition has received the least public funding among all neurological illnesses. Applying a multidisciplinary approach, the MSCA fellow has used a preclinical model of migraine to study brain hypersensitivity to sensory and stressful stimuli to improve the understanding of the pathophysiology of this condition.
SENSOMIG has allowed to understand the impact of stressful stimuli on migraine and how they relate to the comorbidity of migraine and depression. The results show that animals within the chronic migraine model develop migraine- and depressive- like symptoms and that these can be reversed with both anti-migraine and anti-depressive treatments, with important differences between males and females. The project has also found that depression-like animals develop migraine-like symptoms as well and that anti-migraine and anti-depressive symptoms are effective. These results led us to set up a combined migraine and depression model in rodents that might be a better reflection of migraine and its comorbidities, when compared to previous animal models.
Results have been disseminated at different national and international conferences, including the European Headache Conference, the International Headache Conference, the Symposium of the Catalan Biology Society and the Scientific Day at VHIR.
Results have been disseminated at different national and international conferences, including the European Headache Conference, the International Headache Conference, the Symposium of the Catalan Biology Society and the Scientific Day at VHIR.
SENSOMIG has improved the understanding of the complex mechanisms that underlie the pathophysiology of migraine and has unravelled new treatment strategies not only for migraine, but also for depression. Therefore the results obtained can eventually have a positive impact on the quality of life of migraine and depression patients.