Migraine is a brain disease that occurs three times more often in women than in men. Changes are also seen throughout a woman’s life course. Hormone fluctuations play a role in this, but the exact pathophysiology is still unknown. The drop in estrogen just before menstruation may lower the threshold for having a migraine attack. Migraine attacks are therefore more often seen in the period of two days before the first day of the menstrual bleeding up to three days later. These so-called perimenstrual attacks are more severe and longer of duration. As a result, the headache returns more often after taking a triptan (recurrence), because the effect duration of a triptan is too short for the duration of the migraine attack. Therefore, there is a great need for a woman-specific (hormonal) treatment for migraines. Read the full article here (in Dutch).