[Perspective of pathophysiology and treatment of migraine].

Migraine is a most common neurological disease that affects nearly 10% of the general population. Although the pathophysiology of migraine is obscure, cortical spreading depression (CSD) is believed to be a phenomenon underlying migraine auras. On the other hand, the activation of the trigemino-vascular system is considered to be related to headaches. Furthermore, satellite ganglion cells located around the neurons in the trigeminal ganglion may contribute to migraine headaches. Besides, CSD has also been reported to activate the trigemino-vascular system, which subsequently causes migraine headaches. The present review discusses the recent findings of migraine pathophysiology, and mentions some newly developed calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonists, which have revealed the efficaciousness for acute migraine attacks.