Frequently Asked Questions
What is migraine?
Migraine is not just a bad headache. It is an extremely debilitating collection of neurological symptoms that usually includes a severe recurring intense throbbing pain on one side of the head (although in 1/3 of migraine attacks, both sides are affected). Attacks generally last between 4 and 72 hours and are often accompanied by one or more of the following: visual disturbances, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, extreme sensitivity to sound, light, touch and smell, and tingling or numbness in the extremities or face. In 15-20% of attacks, other neurological symptoms occur in advance of the actual head pain. These symptoms, which last 20-60 minutes, are referred to as the aura phase of the headache. Of course, everyone is different, and symptoms vary by person and sometimes by attack.
Why is migraine such a challenging disease to treat?
Migraine is difficult to treat because it is a moving target: symptoms are hard to evaluate and can change from one attack to the next. Diagnosing someone with migraine can be quite difficult. Since symptoms very widely, migraine is often misdiagnosed and about half of all sufferers are never diagnosed. Diagnosing a migraine involves analyzing the symptoms, conducting medical tests, and eliminating other possible causes of the headache. Some people suffer from several different types of migraine, making diagnosis and effective treatment that much more difficult.
What are the social and economic implications of migraine?
The social and economic costs are enormous. Over 30 million Americans - roughly 10% of the total population - suffer from migraine. American employers lose more than $13 billion each year as a result of 113 million lost work days due to headache or migraine. And socially, in addition to the attack-related disability itself, many sufferers live in fear, knowing that at any time an attack could disrupt their ability to work or go to school, care for their families or enjoy social activities.
Who is most affected by migraine?
Migraine affects people of all ages. However, women are disproportionately affected, with approximately 22 million sufferers in the United States. Three times as many women as men suffer from migraine in adulthood. Furthermore, many people are surprised to learn that about 10% of school-age children suffer from migraine. Half of all migraine sufferers have their first attack before the age of 12. Children who suffer are absent an average of 7.8 days from school each year, compared to 3.7 days of absence for children without migraine.
About The Migraine Research Foundation (MRF)
What is the Migraine Research Foundation?
The Migraine Research Foundation is the only organization whose sole purpose is to raise funds for innovative scientific research to further the understanding of the causes and mechanisms of migraine, to develop improvements in treatments for sufferers, and to find the cure. MRF provides more funding for migraine research than any other 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the U.S.
How is MRF filling the funding gap?
In spite of the vast prevalence of migraine and its serious and debilitating effects, migraine is still a poorly understood disease. Basic scientific research into its underlying causes and mechanisms is severely under-funded. At present, NIH funding for migraine research is $9 million – less than 0.03% of the annual NIH research budget. MRF's goal is to fill this critical gap in migraine research.
Where does MRF's funding come from?
The Migraine Research Foundation has the support of an expanding private donor base dedicated to funding innovative migraine research. MRF's overhead is completely underwritten, so contributions go where they are needed most.
About The Migraine Research Foundation Grants
How does MRF determine which grants it will fund?
MRF has a distinguished medical advisory board comprised of eight of the nation's pre-eminent migraine doctors and researchers. They review and discuss all grant proposals, considering their innovation, importance, achievability, and relevance to advancing the science of migraine medicine, and advise MRF's Board of Directors in making funding decisions.
Who are the members of MRF's medical advisory board?
In addition to the chair, Dr. Joel Saper (Michigan Head Pain & Neurological Institute, Ann Arbor, MI), MRF's medical advisory board includes Dr. Rami Burstein (Harvard University), Dr. F. Michael Cutrer (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN), Dr. David W. Dodick (Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ), Dr. Peter J. Goadsby (University of California, San Francisco), Dr. Richard Lipton (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY), Dr. Fred Sheftell (New England Center for Headache and President, American Headache Society), and Dr. Stephen D. Silberstein (Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA).
Who were awarded grants in 2009, and what are they researching?
The 2009 grant recipients and their areas of research are:
- Yu-Qing Cao, Ph.D, Washington University Pain Center, St. Louis, MO
The Effects of Calcium Channel Mutations on Trigeminal Ganglion Neurons Innervating the Dura - Teresa Esposito, Ph.D, Institute of Genetics and Biophysics, Naples, Italy
The Role of Ionotropic Glutamate Receptor Genes in Migraine
- Golda Ginsburg, Ph.D, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
A Pilot Study of Family-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Treating Chronic Pediatric Headache/Migraine and Comorbid Anxiety - Richard Kraig, MD, Ph.D, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL
Microglia and Cytokines Modulate Chronic Migraine - Markus Schürks, MD, MSc & Tobias Kurth, MD, ScD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA
Identification of Genetic Determinants of the Association Between Migraine and Cardiovascular Events: A Genome-Wide Association Study - Julie Wieseler, Ph.D & Linda Watkins, Ph.D, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO
Why Opioids Enhance Migraine Pain: The Puzzle Points to Glia
Who were awarded grants in 2008, and what are they researching?
The 2008 grant recipients and their areas of research are:
- Nancy Berman, Ph.D., University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS
A Behavioral Model of Menstrual Migraine - David Borsook, MD, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Mapping Functional Brain Circuits in a Rodent Model of Central Sensitization
- Andrew Charles, M.D., David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Central Mechanisms of Opioids in the Transformation of Migraine - Michael Cutrer, M.D., The Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Investigation of the Genetic Basis of Migraine: Building a DNA Library in Migraine Sufferers
Who were awarded grants in 2007, and what have they been researching?
The 2007 grant recipients and their areas of research are:
- Richard Lipton, M.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY
Towards a Migraine Genetics Population Laboratory: Building on the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention Study - Michael Oshinsky, Ph.D., Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA
Glial Activation and the Chronification of Headache - Frank Porreca, Ph.D., University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Behavioral Model of Medication Overuse Headache - Ann Scher, Ph.D., Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD
Migraine in Middle Age and Late Life: A Longitudinal Analysis of Factors Related to Migraine Prognosis in a Large Population-Based Cohort
What about the 2009 awards?
The 2009 Request For Proposals is now closed. MRF received 34 grant applications. The Medical Advisory Board will review the proposals in the coming months.