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Grant recipient

Martin Kaag Rasmussen

Chemogenetic dissection of cell cluster contribution in migraine and delineation of intra- and extracellular pathways driving the headache phenotype.
Grant amount: DKK 11.375.000
Migraine is a one-sided pulsating headache that affects 10-15% of the population. More than 50% of people are not satisfied with their migraine treatment, and thus there is in absolute numbers an enormous amount of people where treatment is insufficient. The processes that lead to migraine headache remain elusive, but research indicates that immune cells, sensory neurons and arterial dilation in the cranial vessels are implicated. In this project we have developed tools where we can specifically turn on these cell types in mice and increase the production of a molecule that we know produces migraine in humans. By characterizing the behavior of the animals and comparing the behaviour when the molecules is upregulated in one cell type vs. another, we hope to be able to identify what cell types drive migraine. By identifying this, we want to find out what genes and proteins change in concentration in the animals with migraine and target these molecules to block migraine headache.
Martin Kaag Rasmussen
Senior resident, Ph.D.
 Bispebjerg Hospital