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People who suffer from migraine have been found to have one peculiarity
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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The use of a new method of monitoring blood circulation has allowed scientists to track the state of the capillary network in patients with migraines.
Experts have always paid much attention to the circulatory system. However, arteries and veins were in the field of view, and small vessels - capillaries - were not studied so carefully. And completely in vain: after all, they provide direct delivery of blood to all tissues and organs.
The total number of capillaries in the human body is not one or even two billion, but much more. Therefore, it is not surprising that their disrupted work can cause a failure of varying intensity - both migraine attacks and strokes. However, information on the functionality of capillaries is negligible, and first of all, due to the lack of research materials. However, the latest research by scientists has brought some additional information on this matter.
The specialists managed to create a variant of the well-known plethysmography method that allowed them to detect any localized disorders in the capillary network. The procedure involved using green LED radiation, video recording with a polarization filter, and a specially developed computer program. When erythrocytes are illuminated with a greenish backlight, they change the polarization of the reflected flow. Video recording records only such a changed polarization that it is possible to trace in which of the areas there are more erythrocytes. A more filled area means that the blood flow in it is intense, and additional capillary vessels open.
The scientists used this method in testing people suffering from migraines. According to one theory, migraine attacks are caused by a disorder in the nervous regulation of capillary blood flow. To study this information in more detail, specialists applied pepper-based patches to the volunteers' skin. The specific alkaloid capsaicin in such a patch irritates nerve receptors. After such irritation, people normally "turn on" auxiliary capillary vessels due to increased blood flow: this process can be observed using optical plethysmography.
However, in patients with migraines, the processing of the response signal to irritation was uneven. "Perhaps this occurred due to a disruption in the mechanism of blood circulation regulation at the molecular level," notes Alexey Kamshilin, a researcher at the International Scientific and Technical Center at ITMO University. Uneven "switching on" of capillaries definitely leads to disruption of blood flow. However, scientists have yet to find out what exactly is the connection between this disruption and the development of a migraine attack. As experts point out, the new method allows one to examine a large area of the capillary network and obtain the necessary information about the uniformity of red blood cell divergence in just half a minute. Previously, this was considered impossible.
The new diagnostic method may be useful not only for diagnosing migraines in patients. It can be used in patients with strokes, diabetic vascular changes, etc. In addition, plethysmography can be used to track blood circulation in the cerebral cortex during neurological surgeries.
The scientists’ research is described in an article published in The Journal of Headache (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s10194-018-0872-0).
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