Migraines, cluster headaches connected to body’s internal clock, says study

According to a meta-analysis published in the online issue of Neurology, the American Academy of Neurology medical journal, both cluster headache and migraine have strong links to the circadian system - our body’s internal clock. The research included all available studies on cluster headaches and migraine that included circadian features. This included information on the timing of headaches during the day and the year and studies on whether genes associated with the circadian clock are more common in people with these headaches.
Study author Mark Joseph Burish of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in Texas and a member of the American Academy of Neurology, said, “The data suggest that both of these headache disorders are highly circadian at multiple levels, especially cluster headache. This reinforces the importance of the hypothalamus - the area of the brain that houses the primary biological clock - and its role in cluster headache and migraine. It also raises the question of the genetics of triggers such as sleep changes that are known triggers for migraine and are cues for the body's circadian rhythm.”
People with cluster headaches also had higher cortisol levels and lower melatonin levels than people without cluster headaches.
The meta-analysis showed a circadian pattern of attacks in 50% of people with migraine. While the peak for attacks during the day was broad, ranging from late morning until early evening, there was a circadian low point during the night when few attacks happened. Migraine was also associated with two core circadian genes, and 110 of the 168 genes associated with migraine were genes with a circadian expression pattern.
Burish said, ”These results raise the potential for using circadian-based treatments for headache disorders. This could include both treatments based on the circadian rhythm -- such as taking medications at certain times of the day -- and treatments that cause circadian changes, which certain medications can do.”