Real-world clinical neurophysiological markers as novel human measurement model for personalised treatment in migraine
Migraine is difficult to study in patients because it is impossible to predict when an attack will strike. The unpredictable attacks have a major impact on the lives of patients and families. We lack the tools to measure the brain state of a patient so we do not know when attacks will strike nor can we easily measure the effect of a drug on brain function. To better understand the disease, and develop therapies aimed at preventing attacks, it is important to measure a patient’s brain activity over a long period of time in their home environment, preferably using a non-invasive method. It is important to observe patients in their natural environment to understand why the disease worsens over time, or how attacks start. This is true for migraine, as well as for epilepsy, another neurological disorder characterized by attacks. A non-invasive, ambulatory method for measuring EEG activity, allows doctors and scientists to gain valuable insights in changes in brain activity over time, in the period towards the initiation of an attack. The presented research is part of the “Medical NeuroDelta” program led by PI’s prof. Arn van den Maagdenberg (LUMC), prof. Wouter Serdijn (TU Delft) and prof. Chris de Zeeuw (Erasmus MC), and ZonMw-funded project “Brain@home” (PI’s prof. Arn van den Maagdenberg, LUMC, and Dr. Roland Thijs, LUMC & SEIN). By integrating knowledge on bioelectronics with neurophysiological and clinical insights on brain activity, diagnosis and treatment for patients can improve.
