Scientists receive the Brain Prize for groundbreaking contributions to novel migraine therapies

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The Brain Prize has been awarded to Michael A. Moskowitz, M.D., a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, who also is supported by an NIH grant.

The Brain Prize is "the world's most prestigious award for brain research" and is awarded by the Lundbeck Foundation, Denmark. Dr. Moskowitz will receive the prize along with three other scientists for their pathbreaking contributions that led to novel migraine therapies.

The Lundbeck Foundation said, "Moskowitz showed in experimental models that a migraine attack is triggered when trigeminal nerve fibers release neuropeptides that lead to dilated (opened up) blood vessels of the meninges, inflammation, and pain.... He was the first to propose that blocking the action of released neuropeptides could be a new approach to treating migraine."

Dr. Moskowitz has received support since 1985 from the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.