Posted by gary g on April 23, 1999 at 13:14:55:
In Reply to: AMA/Reuters posted data on new research... posted by Lael Miller on April 23, 1999 at 10:51:38:
GOOD JOB LAEL !
there is another high credibility research report re:different aspect of the same topic - hypothalmus dysfunction - that was published last summer
the seasonal tie-in WORKS logically because the hypothalmus ALSO drives bodily processes that are related to environmental light response
the seasonality has long driven people to endless do-loops with allergists, looking for a substance-allergy trigger
problem with that is the seasonality occurs all over the world, in all different surface-environment conditions
there IS one seasonal function that is UNIFORM at any latitude around the world - daylight-length rate of change, which is markedly GREATER in spring & fall
this is exactly the trigger that makes birds migrate, independent of year to year weather conditions - and same CNS mechanicsas in human light-response, BTW
OK so far ?
NOW - we almost uniformly get some degree of relief from high level o2 - I think we can agree on that
guess what - 02 has been shown in several studies to trigger the hypothalmus seratonin/melatonin biochem process
now - loop back to the research report Lael posted
and ck out the melatonin link
still on board ?
sensation transmission is also linked to this biochem process, and the latest thinking I've read suggests the nerve stimulation/pain response comes FIRST, followed by or causing the localized circulatory inflammation - pretty subtle stuff, but would also explain why we keep hitting a dead end with the vascular headache treatment approach - and why the gap between CH & migraines continues to widen as resaearch into both progresses
I'm personally convinced this is a problem with hypothalmus/CNS dysfunction, very likely SOMEHOW related to daylight cycles, and the answer will be found in that focus
BTW - the fact that we get them living in a wide array of latitudes doesn't prove anything - it can be a longterm evolutionary root, not necessarily a here-and-now cause/effect; there are MANY syndromes/tendencies that go WAY back in roots of origin, traceable to place-related anthropology, but which persist as physiological artifacts in the descendants - I think this is what we've got here
my little ongoing survey of one tiny detail in this is still building, will repost the questions for all the CH msg bd newbies ASAP
anybody with any other links, references, etc to this theory PLEASE email me with the source, etc;
or post in this thread
BEST theory so far - not because it is proven true, but because it is as yet free of negating demonstrations
Remember:
"For every complicated problem, there is a simple solution - and it's usually wrong !"