Survey study, 2017
How do hormones affect both migraines and mood?
Estrogen affects both mood and migraines through serotonin and the trigeminal nerve system. Keeping estrogen stable with hormonal treatment may help both problems.
What they did
The authors reviewed scientific literature on how estrogen, serotonin, and the trigeminal nerve system interact. They described clinical examples from treating women during reproductive transitions like menopause when estrogen changes.
What they found
Estrogen, serotonin, and the trigeminal nerve system are interconnected. When estrogen declines (such as before menstruation), this can trigger both mood symptoms and migraines through these shared pathways.
What it means for you
Women with both hormone-related mood disorders and migraines may benefit from hormonal treatments that stabilize estrogen, which could help both symptoms. The main limitation is this is a review article describing how the system works, not a clinical study testing whether this approach works.
About the study
- Original title
- Hormone-Related Migraine Headaches and Mood Disorders: Treatment with Estrogen Stabilization
- Authors
- Warnock JK, Cohen LJ, Blumenthal H et al.
- Journal
- Pharmacotherapy
- Year
- 2017
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- Estrogen stabilization through hormonal treatment
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1002/phar.1876
Topics
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