Migraines are a neurological dysfunction and a major cause of disability. It is estimated that about 15% of the general population suffer from this disabling headache disorder. In individuals predisposed to migraine headaches, certain areas within the brain react in an exaggerated manner to a variety of triggers which initiates the cascade of events resulting in the excruciating throbbing pain of migraine headaches with associated symptoms of nausea, light and sound sensitivity and dizziness.

Research into human brain activity reveals that migraine is a metabolic abnormality of the brain with increased oxidative stress and decreased antioxidant capacity. This abnormality is due to lower levels of certain essential nutrients which ultimately results in an energy deficiency syndrome at the mitochondrial level in the brain. Mitochondria is the powerhouse of every cell in our body.

This oxidative stress predisposes the brain of migraineurs to the start of a cascade of events that culminates in an inflammatory process resulting in the throbbing pain of migraine headaches.

The most important initiating pathophysiological event is the release of a neurotransmitter called Glutamate and the activation of NMDA receptors. This event in turn initiates a process called cortical spreading depression or CSD. Cortical spreading depression basically is a slow wave of brain activity (depolarization) that travels across the surface of the brain and ultimately results in the trigeminal neuronal release of CGRP and substance P. The release of these neurochemicals is responsible for the neurogenic vasodilation and mast cell degranulation which causes increased vascular permeability (leaky blood vessels), neurogenic inflammation and sensitization of the meningeal nerve fibers during an attack of migraine.

This nociceptive or painful information is then transmitted along the trigeminal nerve to the trigeminal nucleus in the brain stem and from there to the thalamic nuclei and the cerebral cortex where migraine pain is perceived. With its unique formulation and with supplementing the brain with the essential nutrients that it may be lacking, MiGuard may not only decrease the sensitivity of the brain to the migraine triggers but it also may disrupt all or most of the cascade of events that is responsible for the full blown headache of the migraines.

learn more about what causes migraines.