I missed this in July, but thought it pretty important and helpful if you struggle with both conditions, because the hit to your quality of life is, not surprisingly, probably substantial, according to research.
Beyond other, current suggestions (neuroinflammation, among others), a July study from Frontiers in Neuroscience on twins found another possible mechanism for the relationship between PTSD and migraine headaches.
Conn Hastings at PsyPost has a tremendous write-up on the study, but the gist is this: identical twins have the same genes, but their different lives can result in epigenetic changes — the ways those genes are expressed. That, then, has implications for whether someone develops PTSD and/or co-occurring migraines.
The study found that “certain genes are similarly affected in PTSD and migraine, suggesting that they may share some risk factors.”
If you must know more, senior author, Dr. Divya Mehta, notes:
“We identified DAPK2 and TM6SF2 as two of the top overlapping genes between the two disorders. DAPK2 is a calmodulin-regulated protein kinase; it has been implicated in the intracellular degradation process essential for adaptation to metabolic stress (autophagy). TM6SF2 is associated with cardiovascular disease and plays a role in oxidative stress. These findings suggest that epigenetic changes in response to different types of stress may ‘mediate’ stress phenotypes.”
That’s important information, but what does it mean for people who struggle with both conditions?
First, scientists have confirmed a reason for your potential struggle, and that’s always helpful, on a psychological level.
We want to know why we suffer a certain way, and the world, at large, is prone to dismiss PTSD with a “oh, everyone goes through something” and migraines as “oh, everyone gets headaches,” and so next time they do this, send them this article. Or at least send it to yourself when they mock you.
Remind yourself that something medical is going on in your brain that isn’t in theirs, and it’s demonstrable, and if those who dismiss your struggle continue to dismiss it, well, that’s ignorance and in time, the Lord will work to broaden their perspective (hopefully).
Second, and most important, armed with this information, scientists can get to work on potential therapeutics that might work, on both, at the same time!
Mehta (which is a very cool name for a scientist) adds, “For co-occurring disorders such as PTSD and migraine, once we know which common genes are implicated in both disorders, we can develop new therapeutics to target these, thereby reducing symptoms and curing both.”
I can already hear Christians who hate big pharma saying, “Oh great, another medicine for big pharma to make money off of.”
But…I can already hear those who struggle with these conditions saying, “Thank you, Lord, for giving some people (scientists such as these) a calling where they devote their life to curing punishing, relentless diseases.”
Jesus is close to those who suffer in any way, and many have been given a divine calling to work to alleviate that suffering, and thank God for that.
[Photo: Pexels, free stock photography]
