- Abortive medication
- A medication taken at the onset of a migraine attack to stop or reduce its severity. Also called acute medication.
- Allodynia
- Pain from a stimulus that does not normally cause pain — for example, pain from light touch, hair brushing, or wearing glasses during a migraine.
- Aura
- Transient focal neurological symptoms that may precede a migraine attack. Most often visual (zigzag lines, blind spots, flashing lights), but can be sensory, language, or motor.
- Catheter
- A thin, flexible tube inserted into a blood vessel. Used in TEMMA® to navigate to the MMA.
- CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide)
- A key chemical messenger in migraine. Released from trigeminal nerve endings during an attack; causes vasodilation (widening of blood vessels) and inflammation. CGRP inhibitors are a major class of modern migraine drugs.
- Chronic migraine
- Headache occurring on 15 or more days per month for more than 3 months, with migraine features on at least 8 of those days.
- Coil
- A small, soft platinum device placed inside a blood vessel to seal it. The coil is the physical implant used in the TEMMA® procedure.
- CT (computed tomography)
- An imaging study that uses X-rays to create detailed pictures of the brain. Sometimes used to evaluate patients before TEMMA®.
- DHE (dihydroergotamine)
- A migraine medication that constricts blood vessels and reduces migraine pain. Available as an injection or nasal spray.
- Dura (dura mater)
- The outermost of the three membranes surrounding the brain. Densely packed with pain-sensing nerves. A central player in migraine.
- Embolization
- A procedure that intentionally blocks a blood vessel. In TEMMA®, the MMA is embolized with a small coil.
- Episodic migraine
- Fewer than 15 headache days per month. The other major category of migraine (alongside chronic).
- Gepant
- A class of migraine medication that blocks CGRP. Includes ubrogepant and rimegepant.
- Hemisphere
- One half of the brain (left or right). Migraine attacks often affect one hemisphere more than the other, causing one-sided head pain.
- Hippocratic
- Relating to the ethical tradition in medicine, from the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates. The Hippocratic Oath is the most famous expression of medical ethics.
- Incidence
- The number of new cases of a condition in a population over a specific time period. Migraine has a high prevalence and incidence worldwide.
- Lidocaine test
- A short diagnostic procedure where a small amount of numbing medicine (lidocaine) is injected into the MMA. Used in TEMMA® to predict whether the full treatment will help.
- Medication-overuse headache (MOH)
- A headache pattern that develops or worsens when acute pain medications are used too frequently. Also called rebound headache.
- Microcatheter
- An extremely thin catheter used in neurovascular procedures like TEMMA®.
- Middle meningeal artery (MMA)
- The blood vessel that feeds the dura (the membrane surrounding the brain). The target of the TEMMA® procedure.
- Migraine
- A complex neurological condition characterized by recurrent headaches, often one-sided and throbbing, accompanied by nausea, light/sound sensitivity, and sometimes aura.
- MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
- An imaging study that uses magnetic fields to create detailed pictures of the brain. Often used in migraine evaluation.
- Neurointerventional
- A subspecialty of radiology, neurology, or neurosurgery focused on minimally invasive, image-guided procedures involving the blood vessels of the brain and head.
- Preventive medication
- A medication taken regularly to reduce migraine frequency or severity.
- Refractory migraine
- Migraine that has not responded adequately to multiple standard preventive and acute treatments.
- Subdural hematoma
- A collection of blood between the brain and its outer covering. The condition most commonly treated with MMA embolization before TEMMA® adapted the technique for migraine.
- TEMMA®
- Targeted Embolization for Migraine Management. A minimally invasive, drug-free procedure that uses a small coil to seal the middle meningeal artery and reduce migraine frequency.
- Trigeminal nerve
- The cranial nerve responsible for sensation in the face and much of the head. Its branches supply the dura and play a central role in migraine.
- Trigeminovascular system
- The network of pain-sensing nerves (primarily from the trigeminal nerve) that supply the dura and its blood vessels.
- Triptan
- A class of migraine medication (sumatriptan, rizatriptan, etc.) that targets serotonin receptors. A first-line acute treatment for many patients.