Migraine
A common, disabling neurological disorder
What it is
Migraine is a neurological disorder featuring recurrent attacks of moderate-to-severe headache, often one-sided and throbbing, commonly with nausea and sensitivity to light and sound, sometimes preceded by aura. It is not 'just a headache' — it is a leading cause of disability in young and middle-aged adults.
Why it matters
Migraine is extremely common, disproportionately affects women, and is a major cause of lost function. It is also highly treatable: effective acute and preventive therapies exist, and a number of lifestyle and nutraceutical approaches have genuine (if modest) evidence.
What BioSignal knows about treating this
What works for Migraine
BioSignal’s clinical summary, most important first.
- Acute: NSAIDs, triptans, gepants (clinician-directed)
- Preventive: beta blockers, topiramate, amitriptyline, CGRP-targeted therapies
- Magnesium and riboflavin (modest preventive evidence)
- Regular sleep, meals, hydration, and stress management
- Avoiding medication overuse
Signal Records relevant to this condition
Interventions and contributing factors — some of these records describe a cause rather than a cure. The rating shown is BioSignal’s confidence in that Signal Record, not a claim about how well it treats this condition. Open any of them for the full evidence.
- Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)Limited evidence
Doesn't fix statin muscle aches — the trials tested that and it failed. The real open question is heart failure, where one randomised trial reported fewer deaths.
- MagnesiumModerate confidence
Genuinely effective for a few specific things — eclampsia (in hospital), constipation, migraine prevention, and a modest blood-pressure effect. The reasons most people actually buy it — sleep, cramps, anxiety — are the weakest part of the evidence.
- CaffeineHigh confidence
One of the best-evidenced functional compounds there is: it reliably improves alertness and endurance performance, and it is safe for most healthy adults up to about 400 mg a day. It does not dehydrate you. It does wreck your sleep for far longer than you think.
- Antidepressants (SSRIs & SNRIs)High confidence
They beat placebo — the evidence is strong. The average effect is modest and grows with severity. The chemical-imbalance explanation was wrong; the medication still works. Withdrawal is real: taper slowly, never abruptly, with your prescriber.
New to this? Read these first
How this usually unfolds
- Recognize risk factors
- Get diagnosed
- Track key biomarkers
- Lifestyle first
- Evidence-based treatment
- Long-term monitoring
Who is at risk
- Female sex and hormonal fluctuation
- Family history
- Poor or irregular sleep
- Stress
- Skipped meals and dehydration
- Specific triggers (variable and individual)
- Medication overuse (a cause of chronification)
How it's diagnosed
A clinical diagnosis based on characteristic attack features and pattern; imaging is used to exclude other causes when red flags are present, not to confirm migraine.
Key biomarkers
Biomarker pages for this condition are on the roadmap.
Lifestyle
Explore this condition across BioSignal
Related Foundations
Related Signal Records
Related body systems
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Frequently asked questions
Does magnesium help migraine?
There is modest evidence that magnesium can help prevent migraine, and it's low-risk — which is why it appears in guidelines as an option. It is not a substitute for effective preventive medication in frequent or disabling migraine.
Can caffeine cause or treat migraine?
Both. Caffeine can help acutely (it's in some combination analgesics), but regular high intake — and withdrawal — can trigger headaches, and overuse of acute treatments can make migraine chronic.
Evidence summary
Acute and preventive migraine therapies (including CGRP-targeted agents) have strong randomized evidence; magnesium and riboflavin have modest preventive support; medication-overuse headache is a well-established cause of chronification.
References & sources
- American Headache Society guidelines
- CGRP-targeted therapy trials
- Magnesium/riboflavin preventive trials
Educational information — not medical advice
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