Migraines May Boost Memory

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There have been virtually no studies that looked at people over time, she added.

This study involved 1,448 women, 204 of who suffered migraines. All women underwent a series of cognitive tests beginning in 1993 and again about 12 years later.

All of the affected women also had a long history of migraines. "Our thinking was . . . maybe, over time, migraines might result in these subtle insults to the brain," Kalaydjian explained. Scientists have hypothesized that migraine attacks might have a cumulative effect of damage to the brain.

The study didn't show that, however. Migraineurs did perform worse on cognitive tests (such as word recall) at the beginning of the study, but over the course of the entire study their performance actually declined 17 percent less overall than women without migraine.

Women over 50 who had migraines showed the least amount of cognitive decline, the researchers noted.

It's unclear why such a discrepancy would exist but Kalaydjian says certain medication and lifestyle characteristics of migraine sufferers might be worth exploring.

"People with migraines tend to stay away from alcohol, so we might have people that drink less and sleep more, because lack of sleep results in more headaches," she said. "They might take more vitamins and supplements because they're more health-conscious."

There's also some research suggesting that non-aspirin NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) pain relievers might help boost cognition. "People with migraines tend to self-medicate," Kalaydjian said.

The first next step, however, is to try to replicate the findings.

"One study isn't enough but it lays the groundwork for future studies," Kalaydjian said. "It brings up the point that maybe this is something that should be looked into, maybe there's a beneficial side effect of having this pain."

More information

For more on migraines, visit the National Migraine Association.