No MSG Added - a Little White Lie? Part Deux

"MSG is one of the more common migraine food triggers. You might not find M, S and G on the label of whatever product you are buying at your local grocery store, but rest assured, it's most likely there. Even if it says - no MSG added." - starts the article No MSG Added - a Little White Lie? yours truly wrote a while ago about hidden dangers of MSG.

Here's some more MSG-in-hiding facts for my gentle reader's consideration from The dirty secret of MSG - it's everywhere, by Charlotte Law :

"A pesticide company called Emerald BioAgriculture uses an MSG type of "growth enhancer" which they have been spraying onto selected vegetables and nuts since 1999; the company is currently looking to get government permission to use the substance on organic produce.

Meats, seafood and poultry can be rinsed or injected with MSG before reaching your plate, and restaurant salad bars can get an MSG spritz, giving lettuce that perky look. This toxic additive can be found in vitamins, soaps, cosmetics, chewing gum and intravenous hospital fluids. It can be found in children's medications, and it might lurk inside your migraine prescription.

In short, MSG acts as cheap filler, a flavor enhancer and a cosmetic surgeon, fooling unsuspecting consumers into thinking aged, withered foods are fresh. It can hide unpleasant tastes. It has an addictive component much like nicotine, and recent studies in Spain have conclusively linked it with obesity. MSG means profits for the food industry and its powerful Washington lobbyists; and it is no surprise that proper labeling legislation remains elusive.

If any additive containing the essential active ingredient of MSG, glutamic acid or free glutamate, is an amount that is less than 78 percent, the government does not require it to be labeled MSG. This is deceptive because MSG itself contains over 78 percent of free glutamates.

There are epidemiological studies, such as those brought to light by Dr. Adrienne Samuels, suggesting that up to 40 percent of the U.S. population suffers from adverse reactions to MSG with drowsiness, numbness, chest pains, nausea, facial pressure, difficulty in breathing or headaches. The FDA claims only 2 percent of the population experience a bad reaction, but even if this is right, it amounts to whopping 6 million Americans - more than the 3 million who are allergic to peanuts."

The dirty secret of MSG - it's everywhere

Migraine Safety Rules for Outdoor Celebrations

Happy Independence Day holiday to all my gentle readers!


Here's some MIGRAINE SAFETY RULES that should prevent the celebration turning into a Migraine nightmare:

• Do stay away from the sun - heatstroke and dehydration are among primary causes for migraine.
• Drink plenty of water if you are outside, for the reasons mentioned above.
• Don't forget your sunglasses - shades should limit flare and harsh light and keep your eyes from getting tired too fast.
• Try not to inhale too much smoke from the fireworks - not only it's toxic, the smell is so strong it will trigger a migraine no time flat in those of us who are smell-sensitive.
• If your party is planning fireworks, take some earplugs along. Unlike the normals, you'll hear the BOOM even with ears stuffed.
• If you drink alcohol, pace yourself. Better eat something before you drink and get plenty of water in between your beers.
• If there's a cookout, eat more meat (or veggies, if you are a vegetarian) and less of those tasty bans. This cheap variety of bread will jump your blood sugar sky-high and then flour it in fifteen minutes flat. That's a more guaranteed way to get a migraine that polishing a six-pack.

Have fun, my gentle readers!

Migraine Headaches and Reduced Academic Performance

Suffering from migraine headaches as an adolescent leads to lower high school grades and decreases in the likelihood of graduating high school and the likelihood of attending college, according to Daniel Rees, economics professor at University of Colorado Denver, and Joseph Sabia, professor of public policy at American University's School of Public Affairs. These results were presented on Wednesday, July 1, at the 84th Annual Conference of the Western Economic Association International in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Professors Rees and Sabia analyzed data on sibling pairs from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Parental reports identified siblings raised in the same household with different migraine experiences. The authors discovered that suffering from migraine headaches was associated with a five percent reduction in high school GPA, a five percent reduction in the likelihood of graduating from high school, and a 15 percent reduction in the likelihood of attending college. Thirty to 40 percent of these reductions could be explained by excused absences from school, difficulty paying attention in class, and difficulty completing homework. Non-migraine headaches were not associated with reductions in academic performance.

"By focusing on differences between siblings, we can rule out the possibility that family-level factors such as socioeconomic status are driving the relationship between migraine headache and academic performance," said Rees.

Professors Rees and Sabia were able to examine the migraine experiences and high school grades of 214 siblings from 105 families. Information on high school completion and college attendance data was obtained from 280 siblings belonging to 137 families. By comparing the educational attainment of siblings, this study was able to account for the influence of a variety of difficult-to-measure factors such the quality of the home environment. It is the first study to examine the effect of suffering from migraine headaches as an adolescent on future academic achievement.

"We know that migraine headaches can profoundly impact quality of life. Our study offers evidence that they are an important obstacle to long-term academic success," said Sabia, whose research focuses on health economics. "Our results show that migraine sufferers have trouble attending school and have trouble concentrating on the days they do make it to school," Sabia added.

To access the complete data for this study, please visit:

http://econ.cudenver.edu/home/workingpapers/Rees_WP_09-07.pdf

AScribe

Migraines, Erection and Butter Scotch

Scientists at the University of Leicester are researching how Nitric Oxide (NO) acts to regulate brain function. Specifically, to see if there's any potential in NO for treatments of migraine, chronic pain, epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease, sciencedaily reports.

Nitric oxide or nitrogen monoxide is a chemical compound with chemical formula NO. This gas is an important signaling molecule in the body of mammals, including humans. Its primary known function is that the inner lining of blood vessels use nitric oxide to signal the surrounding smooth muscle to relax, thus resulting in vasodilation and increasing blood flow.

This particular function of NO is exploited in the treatment of erectile dysfunction, notably by pharmaceutical drugs such as Viagra or Cialis.

However, the above mentioned scientists asked themselves a question: “Nitric oxide synthesizing enzymes are widely expressed in brain cells... Why is a molecule that can produce penile erections necessary in the brain?”

Apparently, nitric oxide produced by a cell ‘listening’ to its synapses (junctions between brain cells) can change the message received from the incoming ‘talking’ cell.

Too much or too little NO present in those synapses would alter that incoming message. If this brain cell communication goes wrong for a while, interestingly painful syndromes will occur. They include, but not limited to - migraine, chronic pain and epilepsy.

The good scientists have not shared with us more than their intention to learn more about "Understanding how brain cells communicate" by concentrating on Nitric Oxide since it does appear to be "a fundamental signaling molecule".

Here's hoping that their research will lead to something more that just Viagra 2.0. If they want to do that, they could simply add butter-scotch flavor to the darn thing.


link: Health Benefits Of Molecule Associated With Male Sexual Arousal Examined

Amitriptyline Directly Stimulates Brain Growth Factor Receptors

Amitriptyline (or Amitryptyline) hydrochloride (also known as Elavil, Tryptanol, Endep, Elatrol, Tryptizol, Trepiline, Laroxyl, Saroten, Triptyl, Redomex) is a tricyclic antidepressant.

Amitriptyline is used in the US and UK to prevent migraines. It is also used as sleeping aid and for treatment of major depression.

It works by by increasing the levels of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. But the delay required for antidepressants to work has led scientists to the idea that a secondary effect, pushing neurons to survive and grow, must occur indirectly.

The finding that amitriptyline can directly stimulate molecules that help neurons grow and resist toxins suggests a separate mechanism by which some antidepressant and pain relief compounds may function.

It appears that Amitriptyline can imitate NGF (nerve growth factor) protein in the brain. The research was performed by Keqiang Ye, PhD, associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, and colleagues.

In laboratory tests, amitriptyline could protect neurons from oxygen and glucose deprivation or the toxin kainic acid. Only amitriptyline, and not other antidepressants, could duplicate NGF's ability to stimulate neurons to send out "neurites," small projections thought to be the beginnings of connections to other neurons.

Amitriptyline directly binds TrkA and a related molecule called TrkB, researches found. Amitriptyline could also bring together a mismatched pair of TrkA and TrkB.

How the findings translate to practical use is still unclear. NGF cannot cross the blood-brain barrier so finding a substitute with similar properties is highly desirable. On the other hand, since amitriptyline binds to TrkB as well as to TrkA while NGF bind two TrkA molecules, using amitriptyline as a substitute might result in unforeseen side effects.

The research shows promise but farther studies are required.

Reference: S-W Jang, X. Liu, C-B Chan, D. Weinshenker, R.A. Hall, G. Xiao and K. Ye. Amitriptyline is a TrkA and TrkB receptor agonist that promotes TrkA/TrkB heterdodimerization and has potent neurotrophic activity.
Chemistry and Biology, 16, x-y (2009).

link: Antidepressant Directly Stimulates Brain Growth Factor Receptors

Sleep Well, Ye Migraine Folk

Sleep well and you might reduce your migraines, says Anne Calhoun, MD and an associate professor of neurology at the University of North Carolina Medical School.

She conducted an experiment with sleep behavior-modification on women with transformed migraine - it's when episodic headaches become chronic.


Here are the guidelines participants had to follow:

• schedule eight hours of time in bed each night
• not to read or watch television or listen to music in bed
• limit their fluid intake beginning two hours before bedtime
• move dinnertime to four hours before bed

They also were taught how to use visualization to fall asleep quickly.

The result is - Migraine sufferers who slept well reduced their headache frequency by 29% and their headache intensity by 40% compared with those who didn't change their sleep habits (in the control group.)

As a sidenote, Dr. Calhoun was actually trying to prove that medication overuse as a factor in headaches becoming more chronic is less prevalent than lack or a poor quality of sleep.

Yours truly says that the neuroplasticity is a complicated issue and additional studies should be conducted. As in - please don't disregard medication overuse as being bad for you, my gentle readers. However, kudos to Dr. Calhoun for reminding us the importance of getting our Zzzs.

link: Improve Sleep Habits to Cut Migraines

Smoking - Good for Migraine People?

Tobacco can trigger headaches, specifically migraines, an article published in sciencedaily stipulates.

"The results show that 16% of students fulfilled migraine criteria, while 20% smoked. The percentage of smokers was higher (29%) in those who were also migraine sufferers and migraine frequency in those students who were migraine sufferers and smokers was clearly higher than in those who were non-smokers and migraine sufferers.

According to researchers, "smoking is a precipitating factor of this type of headache, as the prevalence of active smokers is one third higher in migraine sufferers and there is a direct relationship between the number of cigarettes consumed and the frequency of migraine attacks"."

Here's a thought, however - what if the it's the other way around? What if migraine people smoke more because they have migraines?

Tobacco is a mild depressant. As such, migraine patients who smoke do it (subconsciously) to slow their hyperactive neurons. More to the point - to numb the senses, especially the sense of smell.

Therefore, the more often people have migraines, the more often they'd smoke.

As you can see, my gentle readers, the results could be interpreted at least two ways. One would imply that smocking is bad for migraines; the other could be stretched so far as to hint it would actually be beneficial.

And so, the thought for today if - Correlation does not imply Causation. Research scientists should really remember this one.

:P