"Very common", migraine affects around eight million people in France, according to Dominique Valade. Guest of the show S ans rendez-vous, Tuesday on Europe 1, the neurologist first reminds that this pathology is not comparable to a temporary headache. "To say that we have a migraine disease, generally there is a family history. It is a genetic disease that is carried by a large number of chromosomes," he explains at the outset. Migraines are generally illustrated by at least five attacks, which last from four to 72 hours and are frequently accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The specialist gives us some advice to limit his attacks, and their intensity.
"Get up at a fixed time, go to bed at a fixed time"
A few lifestyle changes can help calm seizures. For this, you have to "get up at a fixed time, go to bed at a fixed time, eat at fixed times and avoid cravings" and this "365 days a year", explains Dominique Valade. Impromptu naps and late mornings are therefore not welcome. According to the neurologist, this "diet" would reduce the risk of migraines by almost 50%, but "you may have trouble holding it," he concedes.
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Food side, "alcohol is a big risk factor" continues the specialist, like "tobacco". Preparations including glutamate, a peptide that is found a lot "in Chinese food" according to Dominique Valade, is also to be avoided for migraine sufferers who are sensitive to it, because it intervenes in the chain of triggering crises. It is also found in certain yeasts, tomatoes and certain cheeses.
"The general practitioner is fully competent to make the diagnosis of migraine"
This advice should of course not replace medical follow-up which can start with the attending physician. "Initially, the general practitioner is fully competent to make the diagnosis of migraine," confirms Dominique Valade.
"Basically, in the case of a migraine, a wave travels on the brain and [acts] at the level of the vessels of the meninge [membrane which envelops the brain], not at the level of the vessels of the brain", schematizes the doctor . "In this vessel, there is a vasodilation. As this vessel is surrounded by nerve, it pulls on the nerve and it makes an inflammatory syndrome." Hence the use of "vasoconstrictors", triptans, to bring the vessel back to its normal size and anti-inflammatory drugs as part of a treatment.
New methods, biotherapies, have also been announced for a long time in France. Some were released on the American market in September 2018. Because of their high cost, they are still long overdue in France. Dominique Valade hopes for "next summer", even if they only concern a few hundred thousand patients according to him.