The dura and migraine

Abstract

This article concerns the possible role of dural changes in migraine pain. The hypothesis that changes in the dura are important in migraine pain has become widely accepted among migraine scientists. A critical examination of the evidence for and against dural involvement in migraine pain shows that in spite of the extensive research that has been carried out on dural physiology and pathophysiology, there is no hard evidence that dural changes actually occur in humans during a migraine. On the contrary, the available evidence appears to indicate that it is unlikely that dural changes are part of the migraine pain process.