FAQ Episode 24: Gastrointestinal health, migraine and the role of H.pylori infections.
FAQ Episode 24: Gastrointestinal health, migraine and the role of H.pylori infections.
Frequently Asked Questions about Natural Migraine Relief
Sometimes the clinical presentation of a problem, like a migraine headache, can have a root cause in another seemingly unrelated part of the body. Today we’ll discuss a version of this involving the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
A common cause of acid reflux and stomach ulcers is a colonization or infection with Helicobacter pylori. This bacteria can also be present without causing significant GI symptoms. The presence of H.pylori in the GI tract can also be associated with vascular inflammation in other parts of the body. The potential interaction of this kind of vascular inflammation and migraine headaches has been the focus of several studies:
-One of them found H.pylori infection in 40% of headache patients, with the prevalence of migraine type headaches being significantly greater in the H. pylori infected patients. This study assessed whether the eradication of the bacterium was able to reduce frequency, intensity, and duration of clinical attacks of headache. After H.pylori eradication, clinical attacks of headache completely disappeared in 17% of patients. Moreover, intensity, duration, and frequency of headache attacks were reduced in 69% of the remaining subjects (1)
-Another study found that 40% of all studied had H.pylori, and that 83% of those treated became H.pylori free. From within this group, migraine patients who had their infection cleared had a significant reduction of intensity, duration and frequency of attacks of migraine headaches (2)
-A review of the literature on H.pylori and migraine concluded that “the clinical trials conducted in this field strongly emphasize the benefits of eradicating H. pylori infection in migraine patients and have estimated its effectiveness in improving migraine headaches as being “equivalent to current common migraine treatments” (3)
-And there is the issue of white matter lesions (i.e. WMLs, as seen in CT scans of the brain) as representing cumulative damage from hypoxia and ischemia (from blood vessel disease and damage.) It has been repetitively shown that WMLs are more common in migraine patients than in the typical population, and also that H.pylori is a risk factor for WML in chronic migraine patients (4)
Action considerations for those with migraine:
If you have been symptoms of or have been diagnosed with gastritis, gastric or esophageal reflux or ulcers, you should be checked for H.pylori.
If you are on long term acid blockers, ask your doctor if you should be checked for H.pylori, even if you are currently symptom free. This is a simple blood test. Short of antibiotics, you need a sufficiently acidic pH to kill this bacteria. The acid blocker could hold down some GI symptoms down while still allowing the vascular inflammation effects from the ongoing presence of H.pylori.
There some herbal therapies aimed at H.pylori, but the standard two week antibiotic + acid blocker therapy regimen still appears to be the most effective therapy for H.pylori eradication.
Keep in mind that in virtually every case, having a migraine is a combination of underlying and contributory root cause factors. When you identify and address as many of these as possible, you can not only reduce headaches, but also manage other seemingly unrelated health issues that could have long term impact on your health.
Learn more about your migraine root cause factors and specific non-drug interventions.
Managing pro-inflammatory conditions as a factor in migraines is only one of over 90 potential non-drug interventions we discuss in the online course Natural Migraine Relief for Women.
If you are not already a course subscriber, you can learn more about your migraine root cause factors by looking to www.naturalmigrainerelief.online for more information on how you can find and personally triage the best non-drug therapies to relieve your migraine headaches.
Also, remember to subscribe to this Substack blog to get regular postings on Frequently Asked Questions about Natural Migraine Relief for Women.
References
1. Primary Headache and Helicobacter Pylori A Gasbarrini, et. al. International Journal of Angiology. 1998 Aug;7(4):310-2. doi: 10.1007/s005479900121.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9716793/
Beneficial effects of Helicobacter pylori eradication on migraine
A Gasbarrini, et. al. Hepatogastroenterology. 1998 May-Jun;45(21):765-70.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9684130/
Association of Helicobacter pylori with migraine headaches and the effects of this infection and its eradication on the migraine characteristics in adults: A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis Rashed Bawand, et. al. Helicobacter 2023 Oct;28(5) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37529895/
Is ischemia associated with the formation of White matter lesions in migraine? Alevtina Ersoy, et.al. Clin Neurol Neurosurg 2020 Jun:193:105770.