“This project asks, ‘can we standardise and accurately detect CGRP in people with migraine?’ If we can do that, then we all of a sudden have a really valuable marker of migraine diagnosis, disease activity, treatment response, and more.
Watch the full interview with A/Prof Lauren Sanders below.
Project Summary:
Migraine and headache are leading causes of disability worldwide, affecting around half of adults each year. Around 14% of headache is due to migraine and just under 5% is associated with head injury. While understanding of migraine and post-traumatic headache has improved in recent years, many questions remain about what triggers these conditions and how best to treat them.
A key focus is the role of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a neuropeptide (nervous system messenger) linked to migraine. CGRP levels rise during migraine attacks, and treatments targeting CGRP pathways improve symptoms for many people with migraine. It is unclear how CGRP contributes to headache following head injury with varying results from research to date. Accurate measurement of CGRP is challenging, as levels vary across body fluids (e.g. blood, saliva) and there are no standardised detection methods. Establishing accurate CGRP detection is important to guide headache research, as well as having potential to identify which individuals with headache may benefit from CGRP targeted treatments and monitor treatment response.
This research aims to determine the most reliable way to measure CGRP in humans and develop a standardised process. These results are expected to inform future clinical research in headache disorders as well as helping improve clinical care and outcomes for people living with migraine and headache.
The Brain Foundation is dedicated to funding the next generation of Australian research into brain disorders, diseases, and injuries, with the ultimate goal of advancing diagnoses, treatments, and patient outcomes.