INTERRELATIONSHIPS OF NEUROCHEMICALS, ESTROGEN, AND RECURRING HEADACHE

Recurring headache syndromes, such as migraine, are common problems fo r women throughout their adult lives. Headache symptoms often fluctuat e over the years that they are present and, for most headache sufferer s, these changes seem to occur randomly. For many women, however, chro nic headache changes in predictable patterns in relation to alteration s in hormonal states. Clinically, headache is often modified during me nses, pregnancy, and menopause. Although sex hormones are changing wit h these clinical events, this paper will present the more important li nk between altered sex hormones and changes in neurochemicals believed to be responsible for recurring headache syndromes according to the n eurobiological theory of migraine.