Cape Argus (Cape Town)

South Africa: 'Breakthrough' in Migraine Research

Migraine specialists are hoping for a better treatment for migraines following a "breakthrough" study that found that the chemical responsible for the headaches was actually not in the brain, but in an artery.

According to South African migraine scientist Dr Elliot Shevel, one of the specialists who made the discovery, the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), the chemical responsible for migraines, had long been believed to originate in the brain.

But Shevel recently discovered this was not the case, following a study he conducted with an Italian professor of neuropsychiatry, Dr Carlo Cianchetti.

The project was partly funded by the South African and Italian governments.

Shevel, who is the chairman of the SA Headache Society, said the chemical had always been known to be one of the main chemicals associated with migraines. It is usually found in raised levels in the blood of migraine sufferers, but despite this knowledge the origins of the pain had remained a mystery.

Shevel said: "The discovery of CGRP in raised levels in these tissue samples is a major breakthrough in that we now have a chemical and physical explanation for the pain of migraine. This breakthrough heralds a new era of far superior migraine medications."

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Comments Post a comment

  • migraine1998
    Apr 8 2010, 08:31

    Dr. Shevel stole my migraine surgery discovery: www.migrainesurgery.4t.com www.thedoctorstv.com/migrainesurgery

    Dr. Chianchetti asked my permission to use my migraine pressure points discovery bur Dr. Shevel stole it.

  • The Headache Clinic
    Apr 28 2010, 09:59

    Dr Sultanah claims to have a 100% migraine cure rate and is continually using the internet to accuse American, European, and now South African researchers of stealing his work. He has never published anything in any credible medical journal and he complains about being rejected by his Syrian colleagues. For more information on this quack Google "Dr Ali Sultanah"

  • migraine1998
    May 10 2010, 00:36

    Yes, the truth is my migraine surgery cure all kinds of migraine headaches with 100% very good results. Very good result means complete recovery. After the surgery I tell my patients to do all the things that usually provoke migraine attack and they will see that migraine headache will never come. They stole my migraine surgery, but till now they don’t know exact what they stole. They stole me because I work alone, and no one helps me. Thanks to this web site.