I can only echo the views shared by Nigeala L Nigrath and say a heartfelt "Thank You!" to Nigeala for posting that comment. I have said on numerous occasions, sometimes with only myself to hear me, if scientists are bored and looking for a new adventure they need not look skyward but look inward. The brain remains a mystery on too many fronts and remains the source of, or the first indicator of, physical and mental maladies that often have no known causes or cures. Practitioners and patients alike are left with an array of medications and devices that may work for some people in a "run it up the flagpole and see who salutes" world of chance encounters with off label accidental outcomes of various therapies. As a person with decades of experience living with migraine, and a willing subject for almost any suggestion that comes along, I realize the risks I might be taking. I will also be happy with an effective placebo should these debilitating headaches turn out to be, in fact, all in my head. From Chinese herbs that looked exactly like glazed Guinea pig turds to anticonvulsive meds that caused rampant tooth decay, I've been down for it, and sadly remain so to this day. I can count two generations before me, myself, my daughter and we wait to see if migraine rears its ugly head in my granddaughters. If anything I try can benefit those who come after me, it's worth it. Please fund and support a "moonshot to the brain". I'm sure it will be an equally fascinating ride with infinitely more tangible benefits to humankind than any other endeavor undertaken to date. Go on - I trust you'll show this comment - I want to double dog dare those with the clout to make it a reality on social, governmental and financial levels.
NIGEALA L NIGRATH - 3 years ago
30 years of reading the peer review literature has taught me one very important thing: MEDICAL SCIENCE STILL DOES NOT KNOW WHAT MIGRAINE IS. Quite a lot of very smart, dedicated people are doing the best they can with inadequate research dollars. Most new treatments that come down the pipeline are based on extrapolation from bits of experimental data, mostly from animal models. This is apparent in the choice of words used in the product insert to describe the treatment's Mechanism of Action, where we see the words "it is hypothesized/thought/believed that..." The Treatment Emperor is wearing very little clothing - say a towel around his middle, his slippers, and a pair of specs. This is not the medical scientists' fault. Patrick Kennedy is right, we need a "moonshot to the brain", requiring a level of social, govermental, and financial commitment that we have, so far, never seen. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. (I double dog dare you to show this comment.)
I can only echo the views shared by Nigeala L Nigrath and say a heartfelt "Thank You!" to Nigeala for posting that comment. I have said on numerous occasions, sometimes with only myself to hear me, if scientists are bored and looking for a new adventure they need not look skyward but look inward. The brain remains a mystery on too many fronts and remains the source of, or the first indicator of, physical and mental maladies that often have no known causes or cures. Practitioners and patients alike are left with an array of medications and devices that may work for some people in a "run it up the flagpole and see who salutes" world of chance encounters with off label accidental outcomes of various therapies. As a person with decades of experience living with migraine, and a willing subject for almost any suggestion that comes along, I realize the risks I might be taking. I will also be happy with an effective placebo should these debilitating headaches turn out to be, in fact, all in my head. From Chinese herbs that looked exactly like glazed Guinea pig turds to anticonvulsive meds that caused rampant tooth decay, I've been down for it, and sadly remain so to this day. I can count two generations before me, myself, my daughter and we wait to see if migraine rears its ugly head in my granddaughters. If anything I try can benefit those who come after me, it's worth it. Please fund and support a "moonshot to the brain". I'm sure it will be an equally fascinating ride with infinitely more tangible benefits to humankind than any other endeavor undertaken to date. Go on - I trust you'll show this comment - I want to double dog dare those with the clout to make it a reality on social, governmental and financial levels.
30 years of reading the peer review literature has taught me one very important thing: MEDICAL SCIENCE STILL DOES NOT KNOW WHAT MIGRAINE IS. Quite a lot of very smart, dedicated people are doing the best they can with inadequate research dollars. Most new treatments that come down the pipeline are based on extrapolation from bits of experimental data, mostly from animal models. This is apparent in the choice of words used in the product insert to describe the treatment's Mechanism of Action, where we see the words "it is hypothesized/thought/believed that..." The Treatment Emperor is wearing very little clothing - say a towel around his middle, his slippers, and a pair of specs. This is not the medical scientists' fault. Patrick Kennedy is right, we need a "moonshot to the brain", requiring a level of social, govermental, and financial commitment that we have, so far, never seen. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. (I double dog dare you to show this comment.)