Horbourg-Wihr. Conference: Migraine explained by Anne Raft

Anne Raft, why are you organizing a conference (already full, editor's note) on the subject of migraines on Monday, June 16 in Horbourg-Wihr?

To provide more information about migraines, as they are still a little-known disease, even though they are the second most disabling neurological disease recognized by the WHO.

Between January and May, you raised 3,000 euros for the Voice of Migraineurs, an association recognized by the HAS (French National Health Agency). Why them?

The Voice of Migraineurs is fighting for the recognition of real migraines. They have published a brochure, which we are helping to fund with this €3,000, which will be distributed to doctors. This will save them precious time: to inform their patients about migraines, they will simply need to give the brochure.

It helps differentiate between a headache, which can also last several days, and a true migraine, which is pulsating, often unilateral, and worsens with movement, with photophobia and sensitivity to noise and odors. There may be nausea and vomiting.

Is migraine misunderstood because it is a “women’s disease”?

We're fighting against this idea too. There's one man affected for every three women with migraines. It affects men too. The brochure explains the neurological mechanism very well: migraine affects the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, and messages aren't transmitted correctly. Since the neurotransmitters aren't in the right quantities, this triggers vasodilation of the vessels, which creates the pain.

The brochure "What is a migraine?" can be downloaded from the website of the association La Voix des migraineux at www.lavoixdesmigraineux.fr