Migraines linked with brain damage

clipped from news.yahoo.com WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People with migraines also may be suffering from some brain damage as brain cells swell and become starved of oxygen -- a finding that may help explain why migraine sufferers have a higher risk of stroke, researchers reported on Sunday. Similar brain damage can occur with concussions and after strokes, the researchers said in this week's issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience. They said their findings suggest that migraine sufferers should not simply get pain relief but should take drugs that prevent the migraine, which is often preceded by "aura" -- a series of visual disturbances that can include flashes of light or black spots. They saw a swelling occur and the brain cells became starved of oxygen. The nerve cells were damaged -- specifically the dendrites, the long, thin spikes that stretch from one nerve cell to another.

Supplement helps children's brains.

clipped from www.smh.com.au A SIMPLE dietary supplement may help improve concentration, memory and problem-solving in children. Scans on four British children who took an omega oil supplement for three months showed their brains developed dramatically - by the equivalent of three years - over that period. The four children in the pilot study on the effects of diet on young brains were aged between eight and 13 They took supplement called VegEPA, which contains a combination of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, After three months the children's reading age had advanced by more than a year, their handwriting was neater and they paid more attention in class. The scans showed an increase in nerve fibres in their brain, said the lead researcher, Basant Puri, from London's Imperial College. "It means you have more connections and greater density of nerve cells, in the same way a tree grows more branches," said Professor Puri, whose study is yet to undergo peer review.