The study of Hjartavernd, the Icelandic Heart Association, on the connection of migraine and the changes of tissue in the cerebellum were recently reported on in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
“The results were taken from a study on aging undertaken by Hjartavernd and Hjartavernd’s Reykjavík Research Department for the past 40 years,” Vilmundur Gudnason, Hjartavernd’s chief physician, told Fréttabladid.
The study shows that middle-aged women who suffer from migraine with aura, that is, sight disruptions, dizziness and numbness, are more likely to have tissue changes in the cerebellum.
“We still don’t know what effect these tissue changes can have on the cognitive competence and the abilities of individuals but we are researching this,” Gudnason said. “The goal is, as with all medical studies, is to improve people’s health, well-being and life expectancy.”
Around 19,000 Icelanders participated in the Reykjavík Research Department study and 5,700 in the study on aging. “We don’t know why the tissue changes are more common among women than men, but we’ll investigate that further,” Gudnason said.
