Migraines affect more than 28 million
people in the United States, hitting with symptoms
that can include throbbing headache pain, nausea, vomiting
and sensitivity to light and sound. We recently received
a remarkable clinical report of a patient reporting
relief from her migraine headaches from AllerPhase.
Case
History
The patient, a non-smoking,
otherwise healthy 47-year-old female, came
to our clinic seeking relief from recent
debilitating migraine attacks. Her migraines
were associated with her menstrual cycle,
typically beginning 1 to 2 days prior to
menses, and lasting for 2 to 3 days. Symptoms
were varied in intensity and included general
malaise, nausea and fatigue.
The patient had already
attempted self-therapy with a well-known
brand of standardized feverfew. Feverfew
treatment resulted in moderate relief (symptoms
were reduced by about a third), however the
continued intensity of the attacks were causing
significant disruption to her life.
We started the patient
with a brief course of AllerPhase, beginning
with 2 capsules as a loading dose in the
morning, followed by 1 capsule in evening,
on the first day of symptoms.
Treatment with AllerPhase
resulted in the total resolution of her migraine
symptoms for the remainder of her menstrual
period, with the strongest impact occurring
within 20 minutes of the first dose. She
has continued to use this approach and has
not had a reoccurrence of menstrual migraines
since.
JR Gates, DHSc
Clinical Preventive Care Specialist
|
The
Role of Allergies in Migraines
This letter prompted us to review the scientific literature
to find a link between allergies and migraines, and
to review the mechanisms of actions of the herbs in AllerPhase that
might help reduce migraine symptoms.
Allergen exposure causes release
of a cascade of various chemical reactions that result
in acute inflammation of local tissues. The allergen
first binds to IgE antibodies on mast cells. The result
of this binding is activation of various enzymes that
induce mast cell granules to release their contents – substances
such as histamine, platelet-activating factor, prostaglandins,
and leukotrienes – and these substances trigger
the allergy attack by causing inflammation in the local
tissues.
For example, histamine dilates blood
vessels, causing redness and release of tissue-swelling
fluids. It also constricts bronchial tubes, impairs
breathing, irritates nerve endings, causing itching
and pain, and stimulates production of mucus in the
respiratory system. The allergy sufferer experiences
sneezing, an itchy, drippy or congested nose, wheezing,
coughing, shortness of breath, and even skin swelling,
hives or rashes.
Research reveals that allergies and
migraines often have a similar trigger.1,2,3,5 When
histamine is released the resulting vasodilation of
blood vessels can irritate the trigeminal and parasympathetic
nerves, leading to migraine headaches.5
Many of the herbs in AllerPhase,
including Xanthium, Schizonepeta and Angelica
dahuricae interrupt histamine release from mast
cells to inhibit allergic reactions.4,6,7,8 Because
histamine release is a common link between allergies
and migraines, it is feasible to try AllerPhase for
migraine headaches, even in the absence of other allergic
symptoms.
References
1. Bellamy JL, Cady RK, Durham
PL. Salivary levels of CGRP and VIP in rhinosinusitis
and migraine patients. Headache. 2006 Jan;46(1):24-33.
2. Ku M, Silverman B, Prifti N, Ying W, Persaud Y,
Schneider A. Prevalence of migraine headaches in patients
with allergic rhinitis. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol.
2006 Aug;97(2):226-30.
3. Gazerani P, Pourpak Z, Abmadiani A, Hemmati A, Kazemnejad
A. A correlation between migraine, histamine and immunoglobulin
e. Scand J Immunol. 2003 Mar;57(3):286-90.
4. Kimura Y, Okuda H. Histamine-release effectors from
Angelica dahurica var. dahurica root. J Nat Prod. 1997
Mar;60(3):249-51.
5. Theoharides TC, Donelan J, Kandere-Grzybowska K,
Kanstantinidou A. The role of mast cells in migraine
pathophysiology. Brain Res Rev. 2005 Jul;49(1):65-76.
6. Hong SH, Jeong HJ, Kim HM. Inhibitory effects of
Xanthii fructus extract on mast cell-mediated allergic
reaction in murine model. J Ethnopharmacol. 2003 Oct;88(2-3):229-34.
7. Shin TY, Jeong HJ, Jun SM, Chae HJ, Kim HR, Baek
SH, Kim HM. Effect of Schizonepeta tenuifolia extract
on mast cell-mediated immediate-type hypersensitivity
in rats. Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol. 1999 Nov;21(4):705-15.
8. Tohda C, Kakihara Y, Komatsu K, Kuraishi Y. Inhibitory
effects of methanol extracts of herbal medicines on
substance P-induced itch-scratch response. Biol Pharm
Bull. 2000 May;23(5):599-601.
