Caffeine as a treatment.
Even though caffeine can’t be counted as a dietary therapy but as a chemical that most food includes, besides the potential to cause migraine, it can alleviate the pain and incidence rate of migraine for the following reasons.
Due to its capacity to serve as an inhibitor of the interaction between adenosine and adenosine A1 receptors, caffeine has the potential to treat migraines. A neurotransmitter associated with migraines is adenosine. Caffeine can make you feel better by decreasing inflammation. It also supports common headache therapies. Observational studies have shown that caffeine is the best functional and preventive medication for this unusual illness. Another type of headache that may be relieved by coffee is post-dural punctured headache, which is the most common adverse effect after a spinal tap and spinal anesthesia.
Effect on blood circulation (circulation system)
Notably, methylxanthines like coffee often cause vasodilation aside from the central nervous system, increasing cerebrovascular resistance (CVR) and thus decreasing cerebral blood flow (CBF). Numerous investigations showed that coffee lowers CBF by causing vasoconstriction, not only in pathological states but also in healthy persons. The lower the blood flow the lower the pressure in the region around cerebral blood flow. The low pressure thus reduces the possibility of migraine caused by hypertension.
Another study that used vascular data from the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signals in functional MRI (fMRI)11 found that scans of caffeinated regions had shorter time delays and lower standard deviations. This suggests that by causing vasoconstriction, caffeine enhances blood flow velocity.
All those effects on blood circulation could be advantageous while dealing with migraine pain.
Caffeine as a Therapy for Acute Migraine (with dose research)
Many research looked at how well caffeine worked in conjunction with various analgesics. Paracetamol, acetylsalicylic acid, plus caffeine (130 mg) were evaluated to ibuprofen and a placebo a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled research to treat acute migraine in individuals with severe chronic migraine pain. When compared to ibuprofen, the drug combination significantly and more immediately lessened the discomfort and related symptoms of a migraine headache. Another double-blind, randomized experiment evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of sumatriptan (50 mg) in combination with acetaminophen and caffeine (130 mg) for the treatment of migraine attacks. Remarkably, neither the efficacy nor the safety of the two treatments changed from the baseline.
Individuals with two migraine attacks were treated with almotriptan 12.5 mg and ergotamine + caffeine, respectively, in two separate double-blind randomized trials (200 mg). Almotriptan was proven to be much more successful in treating migraines than that of the combination drug, in addition to being very well tolerated and associated with better treatment satisfaction. However, the combination drug indeed releases the pain of migraine, we can’t ignore that.
Conclusion for caffeine:
It is not known how caffeine impacts headaches, even though it has long been connected to migraines. Caffeine withdrawal and use of coffee, together with a small percentage of migraineurs, were found to be headache-causing variables. It can be challenging to distinguish between migraine triggers like coffee or energy drinks and premonitory symptoms like yawning, lack of energy, and fatigue, which can all be precursors of a headache.
Additionally, the idea that coffee can trigger migraines is unsupported by strong evidence. Contrarily, caffeine, whether used alone or in conjunction with other drugs, has been demonstrated to be both safe and effective in the treatment of acute migraines. There are several possible mechanisms via which coffee may influence migraines, but the adenosine receptors are the primary ones.
Reference:
Oshikoya, K. A., Osadiaye, O. A., & Ogunleye, O. O. (2015). Prevalence of headache disorders among university students in Benin City, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 14(2), 68–73. Retrieved from https://www.ajol.info/index.php/njps/article/view/120209
Sarkar,S.(2022,February21)."Migrainepain:Causes,symptoms,triggers andtreatment."TheIndianExpress. Assessed and Endorsed by the MedReport Medical Review Board