People suffering from migraines in middle age are at risk of developing Parkinson's disease, a new study states.
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. The symptoms of the conditions are tremor, slowed movement, rigid muscles, impaired posture and balance, loss of automatic movements and speech changes, according to Mayo Clinic.
The study, lead by Dr. Ann I. Scher of the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda and a member of the American Academy of Neurology, found that people who experience migraines with aura are twice as likely to develop Parkinson's disease.
"Migraine is the most common brain disorder in both men and women," Scher said in a press release. "It has been linked in other studies to cerebrovascular and heart disease. This new possible association is one more reason research is needed to understand, prevent and treat the condition."
For the study, researchers examined 5,620 people aged between 33 and 65. The participants were followed for 25 years.
The findings of the study showed that people who suffer from migraines with aura were more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with Parkinson's disease compared to those without headaches. Overall 2.4 percent of people with migraine with aura had the condition as opposed to 1.1 percent of those with no headache.
Moreover, 19.7 percent of respondents with migraine with aura had symptoms, compared to 12.6 percent of those with migraine and no aura and 7.5 percent of those with no headaches.
Researchers found that women who had migraine with aura were significantly at increased risk to have a family history of Parkinson's disease. "While the history of migraine is associated with an increased risk for Parkinson's, that risk is still quite low," Scher said.
According to the Migraine Research Foundation, almost one in four U.S. households have someone with migraine. Nearly 18 percent of American women and 6 percent of men suffer from migraine, which is most common during the peak productive years- between the ages of 25 and 55.
The findings were published Sept. 17 in the journal Neurology.
