14 DAY TRIAL // Experts from the Thomas Jefferson University (TJU) Jefferson Headache Center have recently announced in a new study that people usually suffering from migraines experience hangover headaches more harshly than those who do not suffer from the condition. The investigation is meant as a warning for those who know that they have migraines, and yet insist on getting drunk during some nights. The find will be presented at the Neuroscience 2009 conference, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, held in Chicago, Illinois, e! Science News reports.
The reason why this line of research was not possible before was that creating animal models that suffered from headaches was extremely difficult. In the new experiments, researchers at the Center managed to create a rat model that fitted the requirements. The rodent was made to feel headaches by repeated stimulation of the dura mater with an inflammatory mixture, over weeks and months. In charge of the studies has been TJU Assistant Professor of Neurology Michael Oshinsky, PhD.
The animal model was then used to assess the pain differences that occurred between the rats that suffered from continuous migraines and those who experienced no such pain. The rats were divided into four groups, two of which received the stimulation. The other two were used for control. All of the rats were given saline or alcohol, about the equivalent of two shots of liquor for an average person.
The results revealed that, for about two hours after ingesting the alcohol, the “migraine” rats exhibited a light analgesic effect, as the alcohol calmed down their pain. However, four to six hours later, their pain sensitivity increased considerably, as opposed to the levels it had before the alcohol was ingested. Their pain threshold was analyzed using von Frey monofilaments.
“Our results suggest that dehydration or impurities in alcohol are not responsible for hangover headache. Since these rats were sufficiently hydrated and the alcohol they received contained no impurities, the alcohol itself or a metabolite must be causing the hangover-like headache. These data confirm the clinical observation that people with migraine are more susceptible to alcohol-induced headaches,” Oshinsky concludes.