A follow-up study in Washington shows that although migraines are a real pain, they may spell relief for women at risk for developing breast cancer.

Dr. Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash. originally conducted this study with colleagues in 2008. Their original study linked clinically diagnosed migraines with a lower risk for both invasive ductal and invasive lobular breast cancer.

Breast cancer and migraines are both hormonally related conditions—migraines often resulting from unstable or changing hormone levels, especially estrogen. For women, who are 2-3 times more likely to experience migraines than men, this time is typically during the early days of menstruation.

The study found that postmenopausal women with a history of migraines had 32-33% reduced chance of developing breast cancer. These statistics proved to be even more consistent in subtypes of breast cancer that are estrogen-receptor and progesterone-receptor positive.

When the original study results were released last fall, the sample group consisted of roughly 3,500 postmenopausal Seattle women between the ages of 55-74. This time, however, Dr. Li and his colleagues were able to paint a much better picture. “Having a larger and more diverse study in its underlying population helps in replicating the findings,” Li says.

By more than doubling the sample size, expanding testing to women of different menopausal stages  (this time including ages 35-64), and adding four locations in Detroit, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Philadelphia, researchers were able to define breast cancer’s connection to migraines more clearly.

In addition to age and menopausal status, many breast cancer risk factors also trigger migraines. Such factors include smoking, alcohol consumption and use of exogenous hormones (such as birth control). These risk factors, however, did not increase the likelihood of women with a history of migraines.

According to the second study, rates among the control and case groups were relatively unchanged, despite differences in use of prescription migraine medications and age at migraine diagnosis. Even among those who did not avoid these triggers, women with a history of migraines were still 26% less likely to develop breast cancer than those without.

It is not clear how migraines “protect” against breast cancer, but researchers hope to further examine the role of hormones, NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and other medications in the development of breast cancer.

The best way to reduce breast cancer risk is to check regularly. For more information on breast cancer and how to do a self-examination, visit NationalBreastCancer.org.

You can also check out Helia's  Breast Cancer Community!

 

Want more information about migraines? Click here .

You may not realize that you’re taking too much of a popular pain reliever. The most widely used medication in the United States, acetaminophen (Tylenol), is effective in relieving mild to moderate pain and reducing fever—when used at the recommended dosage. When more than 4,000 milligrams of acetaminophen are used a day, however, it can harm the liver. Acetaminophen overdosage causes an estimated 56,000 visits to emergency facilities each year and is the most frequent cause of liver failure.

Although the problems have been recognized for years, they recently gained more scrutiny. The Federal Drug Administration has taken a closer look at the safety of over-the-counter and prescription medication containing acetaminophen. Last week, an FDA joint advisory committee gathered to discuss safety questions surrounding acetaminophen. They made several recommendations, such as lowering the maximum daily dosage and strengthening the labeling.

And, manufacturers may be asked to play a bigger role in helping prevent overdoses. One issue: many remedies contain acetaminophen along with other medications. Consumers may not be aware they are swallowing acetaminophen along with both prescription and over-the-counter remedies. A majority of acetaminophen-related deaths have involved opioid/acetaminophen combination products, such as acetaminophen/oxycodone (Percocet) and acetaminophen/hydrocodone (Vicodin). Typically, the package warning labels concentrate on the more potent opioid drug.

Although the FDA is not required to accept the recommendations of its advisory committees, it usually does so.

To help protect yourself from overdosing on acetaminophen, Daniel A. Hussar, PhD, Remington Professor of Pharmacy at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, offers these tips:

• Know that APAP is the abbreviation for the chemical name of acetaminophen and, if found on the list of ingredients, means the product contains acetaminophen.
• For occasional, modest pain, consider starting with a dose of 500 mg (rather than 1000 mg).
• Be aware there are two concentrations of nonprescription acetaminophen for children. The infant formulation is more concentrated than the formulation for older children. Make sure you understand the concentration level before giving medication to a child.
• Check the dose of acetaminophen that is included in any combination medication. Ask your pharmacist if you are uncertain.
• For over-the-counter cold and flu remedies, seek products that treat just the symptoms you have. For sneezing and a runny nose, for example, a product containing an antihistamine and a decongestant would be sufficient.

For more information on acetaminophen, see the Pharmacist Activist Newsletter. For information and support on relieving back pain, a very common pain complaint, see the Healia Back Pain Guide. And talk to others about treatment and relief at the back pain online health community and support group.

A new study provides evidence that warm weather conditions are associated with an increase in migraines and other severe headaches, something that many migraine sufferers have been saying for years. Appearing in the March 10 issue of the journal Neurology, the study also reports a connection between severe headaches and lower atmospheric pressure.

While many people who suffer from severe headaches, especially those with migraines, believe there is a connection between environmental conditions such as weather and their headache symptoms, very little research has examined the relationship. In the present study, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston examined the records of 7,054 patients who visited the emergency room at the Medical Center between May 2000 and December 2007 and who were discharged with a primary diagnosis of headache (about one-third of which were confirmed migraines). They used weather and pollution data to see if there was a relationship between the number of emergency room visits for headaches and several environmental factors that included air temperature, air pressure, humidity, fine particulate matter, black carbon, and nitrogen and sulfur dioxides pollutants.

The results showed that the air temperature in the 24 hours prior to a patient's hospital visit was most closely associated with headache symptoms, with a 7.5 percent higher risk of severe headache reported for each 5 degree Celsius increase in temperature (about 9 degrees Fahrenheit). To a lesser degree, lower barometric pressure 48 to 72 hours prior to a patient's emergency room visit also appeared to trigger headache. There was no evidence of an association between headache onset and environmental pollutants.

The researchers say their data clearly demonstrate a relationship between environmental conditions and the onset of severe headache, providing evidence that external factors can trigger the condition and may be responsible for many headaches each year. They add that while there is not much an individual headache sufferer can do about the weather, knowing that air temperature is a potential trigger might allow people to take special precautions to avoid exposure to other known headache triggers when the temperature rises, or provide an opportunity for them to take medications in advance to avoid a migraine. Talk to your doctor if you want to learn more about your potential migraine triggers or about the medications available for migraines.

Learn more about preventing migraine headaches by visiting "How Can I Prevent Migraines" in the Healia Health Guide to Migraines or share your own headache story in the Healia Health Community for Migraine Headache.

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Being obese may be more than just a metaphorical headache – according to a study released this week, obesity may actually increase the risk of getting migraine headaches. The study finds that both men and women with excessive belly fat are more likely to suffer from migraines or other types of severe headaches.

The study examined data from a U.S. Government heath survey of more than 22,000 people and found that people between the ages of 20 and 55 who were considered obese based on their waist circumference were more likely to report suffering from migraines. Nearly 37 percent of obese women in this age group said they had migraines, compared to 29 percent of women who did have excess body fat. About 20 percent of obese men aged 20 to 55 reported migraines, while only 16 percent of non-obese men did.

Complete results of the study will be presented at the upcoming annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Seattle.

Migraines are severe headaches that are sometimes accompanied by visual disturbances, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound. They are more common in women, tend to run in families, and are most prevalent between the ages of 20 and 45. Migraines affect an estimated 10 percent of the U.S. population, but the percentage is much higher among young and middle-aged adults.

According to the study authors, their findings suggest that losing weight in the stomach area may help young and middle-aged people with migraines, especially women. The next step in this line of research is to demonstrate that losing weight from around the belly actually reduces migraines in this age group.

While there are already several very compelling health reasons to lose weight if you are obese – reductions in the risk of heart attack, stroke, osteoarthritis, certain forms of cancer, and dementia, to name a few – all of them are "future" risks. Someone who has excruciating migraines may be more motivated to lose weight if he or she knew it might help rid them of the headaches they already have.

For more information on migraines, read the Healia Health Guide on Migraine, or share your experiences in the Healia Health Community for Migraine Headache.

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Migraine headaches are painful and debilitating but they may have a silver lining for women. A recent study reports that women who have a history of migraines have a 30% lower risk of developing breast cancer. The study, conducted at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, was the first to examine a link between the two disorders and appears in the November Issue of the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

Migraine history appeared to reduce the risk of the most common types of breast cancer: those that have receptors for the female sex hormones estrogen and/or progesterone on the surface of their cells. The presence of such receptors renders these types of tumors susceptible to hormone-blocking drug treatments.

Researchers are not sure why migraines reduce breast cancer risk but the answer may have to do with the levels of female sex hormones in the blood. Migraines are more common in women than men and they tend to occur more frequently when levels of female sex hormones are low, such as during menstruation.

Conversely, many women who have migraines experience fewer episodes during pregnancy, a time when the levels of these hormones are high. Sex hormones are known to stimulate the growth of some types of breast cancer, so perhaps lower overall levels of this hormone lead to both an increase in migraines and a decrease in the growth of breast tumors.

If you are a women with migraines, this does not mean you are protected from getting breast cancer, only that your risk may be somewhat reduced. You should continue to have regularly scheduled mammograms as recommended by your health care provider. If you take medication for your migraines, you should continue to do so, as the study does not address whether migraine treatments have any effect on breast cancer risk.

For more about migraines, join the Healia Health Communities for Migraines. Find out more about breast cancer in the Healia’s breast cancer health guide.

 

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