Dr Olivia Grech
@ogrech.bsky.social
Post Doctoral researcher studying mechanisms and treatments for headache in raised intracranial pressure at the Uni of Birmingham UK
6/ Could this help patients with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH)? We think so! More work is needed, but these findings open doors for new headache treatments.
📖 Full study: doi.org/10.1093/brai...
#Neuroscience #Headache #IIH #Migraine #GLP1 #CGRP
📖 Full study: doi.org/10.1093/brai...
#Neuroscience #Headache #IIH #Migraine #GLP1 #CGRP
Raised intracranial pressure alters cortical vascular function and cephalic allodynia
Raised intracranial pressure (ICP) is associated with altered cerebral blood flow and cephalic pain. In a rat model, Grech et al. show that a GLP-1R agonis
doi.org
March 24, 2025 at 3:08 PM
6/ Could this help patients with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH)? We think so! More work is needed, but these findings open doors for new headache treatments.
📖 Full study: doi.org/10.1093/brai...
#Neuroscience #Headache #IIH #Migraine #GLP1 #CGRP
📖 Full study: doi.org/10.1093/brai...
#Neuroscience #Headache #IIH #Migraine #GLP1 #CGRP
5/ Key takeaways:
🔹 Raised ICP disrupts brain blood flow & pain processing.
🔹 Lowering ICP (GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic) reduces pain.
🔹 Blocking CGRP stops headache—even if ICP stays high!
This supports a dual approach to treating ICP-related headaches
🔹 Raised ICP disrupts brain blood flow & pain processing.
🔹 Lowering ICP (GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic) reduces pain.
🔹 Blocking CGRP stops headache—even if ICP stays high!
This supports a dual approach to treating ICP-related headaches
March 24, 2025 at 3:08 PM
5/ Key takeaways:
🔹 Raised ICP disrupts brain blood flow & pain processing.
🔹 Lowering ICP (GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic) reduces pain.
🔹 Blocking CGRP stops headache—even if ICP stays high!
This supports a dual approach to treating ICP-related headaches
🔹 Raised ICP disrupts brain blood flow & pain processing.
🔹 Lowering ICP (GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic) reduces pain.
🔹 Blocking CGRP stops headache—even if ICP stays high!
This supports a dual approach to treating ICP-related headaches
4/ What about CGRP? Since CGRP blockers work in migraine, we tested olcegepant. ⚡
❗ Even without lowering ICP, CGRP blockade prevented headache pain.
This suggests CGRP drives pain in raised ICP conditions.
❗ Even without lowering ICP, CGRP blockade prevented headache pain.
This suggests CGRP drives pain in raised ICP conditions.
March 24, 2025 at 3:08 PM
4/ What about CGRP? Since CGRP blockers work in migraine, we tested olcegepant. ⚡
❗ Even without lowering ICP, CGRP blockade prevented headache pain.
This suggests CGRP drives pain in raised ICP conditions.
❗ Even without lowering ICP, CGRP blockade prevented headache pain.
This suggests CGRP drives pain in raised ICP conditions.
3/ Could lowering ICP reverse these effects? We tested exenatide (GLP-1 agonist):
✅ Lowered ICP (~18mmHg → ~9mmHg)
✅ Improved pain thresholds
✅ Restored brain blood flow & neurovascular function
✅ Lowered ICP (~18mmHg → ~9mmHg)
✅ Improved pain thresholds
✅ Restored brain blood flow & neurovascular function
March 24, 2025 at 3:08 PM
3/ Could lowering ICP reverse these effects? We tested exenatide (GLP-1 agonist):
✅ Lowered ICP (~18mmHg → ~9mmHg)
✅ Improved pain thresholds
✅ Restored brain blood flow & neurovascular function
✅ Lowered ICP (~18mmHg → ~9mmHg)
✅ Improved pain thresholds
✅ Restored brain blood flow & neurovascular function
2/ With raised ICP (📈 ~6mmHg → ~16mmHg), animals became more pain-sensitive and showed:
❌ Prolonged spreading depolarization
❌ Reduced brain blood flow
❌ Depleted energy metabolites (ATP, NAD+)
These changes disrupt neurovascular function & pain pathways.
❌ Prolonged spreading depolarization
❌ Reduced brain blood flow
❌ Depleted energy metabolites (ATP, NAD+)
These changes disrupt neurovascular function & pain pathways.
March 24, 2025 at 3:08 PM
2/ With raised ICP (📈 ~6mmHg → ~16mmHg), animals became more pain-sensitive and showed:
❌ Prolonged spreading depolarization
❌ Reduced brain blood flow
❌ Depleted energy metabolites (ATP, NAD+)
These changes disrupt neurovascular function & pain pathways.
❌ Prolonged spreading depolarization
❌ Reduced brain blood flow
❌ Depleted energy metabolites (ATP, NAD+)
These changes disrupt neurovascular function & pain pathways.
1/ Raised ICP is linked to headache and altered brain blood flow, but how they interact is unclear. We developed a model of raised ICP to explore this & tested whether:
✅ Lowering ICP (GLP-1 receptor agonist 💉)
✅ Blocking CGRP (migraine drug ⚡)
could relieve headache pain
✅ Lowering ICP (GLP-1 receptor agonist 💉)
✅ Blocking CGRP (migraine drug ⚡)
could relieve headache pain
March 24, 2025 at 3:08 PM
1/ Raised ICP is linked to headache and altered brain blood flow, but how they interact is unclear. We developed a model of raised ICP to explore this & tested whether:
✅ Lowering ICP (GLP-1 receptor agonist 💉)
✅ Blocking CGRP (migraine drug ⚡)
could relieve headache pain
✅ Lowering ICP (GLP-1 receptor agonist 💉)
✅ Blocking CGRP (migraine drug ⚡)
could relieve headache pain