Scientists have provided the strongest evidence yet that a protein that enables us to detect the sensation of cold may also be responsible for migraines. The findings appear in the journal Pain.

The findings move TRPM8 into the light as a potential target for new drugs aimed at relieving migraine.

"Our results confirm the importance of TRPM8 in migraines that was suggested by human genome-wide association studies and implicate the protein as a potentially important component of the pathology that leads to migraine. Thus, other scientists or clinicians can now add TRPM8 to their models of migraine and potential targets for treatment," says David McKemy, professor of biological sciences at USC Dornsife and corresponding author on the study.

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