Probiotics for Treatment of Migraine Headache?

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

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We have previously discussed the role of gut bacteria affecting the brain and person’s social behavior and personality  via gut-brain axis. This indicates that certain beneficial bacteria may be able to influence chronic disorders affecting brain, pain etc. Leaky gut is believed to be one of the potential pathways for bacterial signals to get into body and into nervous system.

 Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

 

Migraine is a common and  complex neurogenic inflammatory disorder. Many of migraine patients have concurrent GI problems. People who have frequent GI problems also tend to have more frequent and severe headaches. 

 

There is high correlation between migraine headaches and other common gastrointestinal diseases like infantile colic, irritable bowel syndrome and celiac disease.  In fact, treatment of celiac disease with gluten-free diet can sometimes resolve the concurrent migraine headaches also!

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

 

Kids born to moms with migraine suffer more infantile colic. Kids with migraine headaches are likely to have had more colics in younger years.

 

How can migraine and gut be linked?

An abdominal variant of migraine has been described. Intestinal hyperpermeability or leaky gut and increased inflammation have been implicated in migraine.

 

One of the mechanisms for chronic inflammation is leakage of toxins from intestinal bacteria across leaky gut into the body provoking inflammatory response.

 

How may probiotics help in migraine?

Dr. Karczewski and colleagues have demonstrated that probiotics strengthen leaky gut by altering the configuration of tight junctions of the intestinal fence barrier.

Probiotics can ameliorate both the inflammation and gut leakiness. So can the probiotics help migraine via gut brain axis?

 

Dr. de Roos and colleagues from the  Netherlands conducted an open labelled trial to determine the effect of multi-probiotic formulation Ecologic® Barrier on migraine.

 

Drs. Van Hemert and Ormel have previously demonstrated that each of the probiotic strains in this formulation strengthen the gut barrier offsetting the leaky gut (Food and Nutrition Sciences, 2014, 5, 1739-1745).

 Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

 

Study methods and design

• Open labelled trial
• 29 patients
• Intervention: 2 g per day of the multi-strain probiotic  (Ecologic®Barrier, 2.5×109 cfu/g) for 12 weeks
• 93% of patients completed the study

 Contents of probiotic formulation (8 species viable cell count of 2.5 × 109 CFU/gram)

• B. bifidum W23
• B. lactis W52
• L. acidophilus W37
• L. brevis W63
• L. casei W56
• L. salivarius W24
• Lc lactis W19
• Lc. Lactis W58

Data recorded

• Frequency and intensity of migraine headache in a  diary
• Migraine Disability Assessment Scale 
• Henry Ford Hospital Headache Disability Inventory at baseline and after 12 weeks of treatment

 Results

• Significant decline in mean  number of migraine days per month from 6.7 at baseline to 5.1 between weeks 58 and 8, and further to 5.2 during weeks 9-12.
• Significant decline in mean  intensity/severity of migraine headaches from 6.3 at baseline to 5.5 at the end of trial
• Significant improvement in Migraine Disability Assessment Scale score improved from average 24.8 to 16.6.
• There was no difference in the Headache Disability Inventory score did not change.

Conclusions of the study

Probiotics have potential to affect migraine and may be a potential therapy pending further randomized controlled trials. The study further potentiates the argument that leaky gut is involved in chronic diseases far beyond the gut.

 

Dr. Minocha's comments

This provocative study is consistent with the concept of gut-brain axis. The probiotic strains used were specifically picked because of their likelihood of healing inflammation and leaky gut based on laboratory data. However, it should be noted that it is an open-labelled trial and randomized controlled study.

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

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