Parkinson's disease and migraine

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders. Migraine is the most prevalent neurological condition among adults. It has been established that migraine often precedes the development of PD, and with the onset of motor symptoms and/or the initiation of specific therapy, both the frequency and severity of migraine attacks significantly decrease. It is likely that the two conditions share common functional and biochemical characteristics. If brainstem nuclei disintegration and dopaminergic neurotransmission dysregulation are involved in the pathogenesis of migraine, then studying patients with migraine who go on to develop PD may provide important insights into the role of dopamine and/or dopaminergic brainstem regions in the pathogenesis of both migraine and PD. This review focuses on studies addressing epidemiology, the role of dopaminergic system genes in migraine development, mechanisms linking the two diseases, and the impact of pharmacological therapy.