As remembered News Atlas, widening of the perivascular spaces can lead to small vessel disease and other problems such as inflammation or the development of abnormalities. In an article by Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), the researchers explain how they investigated the possible impacts of these perivascular spaces on migraine. They scanned (via MRI) the brains of healthy people and people with chronic and episodic migraines.
Result: Researchers have discovered “significant changes” in the brains of migraine sufferers.
The perivascular spaces in the semioval center of migraine patients are markedly enlarged compared to those of the “healthy” group. “In people with chronic migraine and episodic migraine without aura, there are significant changes in the perivascular spaces of a region of the brain called the semioval center“says Wilson Xu of the University of Southern California.
Furthermore, Wilson Xu insists on the link with the white matter (tissue of the nervous system that serves as wires that carry messages between neurons). “Although we found no significant change in the severity of white matter lesions in patients with and without migraine, these lesions were significantly related to the presence of enlarged perivascular spaces. This suggests that changes in the perivascular spaces could lead to the development of more white matter lesions..”
These findings suggest a possible disruption of the glymphatic system in the brain, which clears toxins from the central nervous system through perivascular channels.
A new path to follow to try to understand what is happening in the brain of migraine sufferers and finally be able to offer a cure that gives effective relief. “These findings could help inspire future large-scale studies to continue investigating how changes in the brain’s microscopic vessels and blood supply contribute to different types of migraine. Ultimately, this could help us develop new personalized ways to diagnose and treat migraine.”concludes the study.
