What causes the symptoms of hemiplegic migraine?
Migraine is believed to be caused by the release of a chemical called serotonin or 5HT into the bloodstream from its storage sites in the body, resulting in changes in the neurotransmitters and blood vessels in the brain. Exactly what causes this to happen is a subject for research and debate; however, due to these irregular changes, temporary paralysis is known to present during some migraine attacks. There are two types of hemiplegic migraine: • Familial hemiplegic migraine is where migraine attacks occur in two or more people in the same family and every individual experiences weakness on one side of the body as a symptom with their migraine. • Sporadic hemiplegic migraine is where someone experiences all the physical symptoms of familial hemiplegic migraine but doesn’t have a known connection within their family. The cause of this type of hemiplegic migraine is unknown; some are due to new or so called ‘sporadic’ gene mutations.
