Migraine as the Hypothalamic Distress Signal — Joshua Turknett, M.D. (AHS14)
Channel: AncestryFoundation
Date: 2014-08-12

Though meaningful progress has been made in recent years on the pathophysiological correlates of disparate migrainous phenomema, a unifying model of migraine pathogenesis has remained elusive, frustrating clinical attempts to treat its root cause. This progress has included the identification of the hypothalamus as the putative initiator of migraine pathophysiology. A growing body of evidence supports the efficacy of an ancestral diet for preventing migraines, beckoning us to redefine migraine as a disease of civilization, and providing us with a previously unexplored avenue for understanding migraine pathogenesis. Taken together, these observations suggest a unified pathogenetic theory of migraine as a mismatch disease of the hypothalamus, manifesting when homeostatic demands are outside the bounds of our evolutionary experience.

Abstracts and information about the Ancestral Health Symposium can be found at www.ancestralhealth.org/ahs14-program.