Migraine - New Study Supports Importance Of Considering Gastric Stasis
Data from a newly published study in the current issue of Headache indicates that migraine sufferers experience gastric stasis, or the delayed emptying of the stomach, both during and outside of a migraine attack, and that contrary to previous belief, gastric stasis did not worsen during an acute attack. This data may suggest that migraine sufferers arephysiologically different in this regard than non-migraine sufferers. In addition, the data may also yield key clinical insights as the presence of gastric stasis, a physiologic phenomenon previously thought to only occur in migraine patients during an acute attack, may interfere with patients getting fast pain relief.
Gastric stasis is a common occurrence in migraine sufferers that can slow the disintegration and absorption of medicines in the stomach, and potentially limit the efficacy of medicine that is swallowed. This study shows that gastric stasis appears to be a feature of the disease (migraine) rather than an event that is triggered during an acute attack.