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Ischemic stroke and migraine in childhood: coincidence or causal relation?
1Children's Hospital, Mainz, Germany. friedrich_ebinger@ukl.uni-heidelberg.de
Insights
Migraine can cause cerebral infarction (stroke) in children, a condition known as migrainous stroke. Current diagnostic criteria may be too strict for identifying this in pediatric patients.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Pediatrics
- Cerebrovascular Diseases
Background:
- Migraine is a recognized cause of cerebral infarction in adults.
- The association between migraine and stroke is less understood in pediatric populations.
Observation:
- The study presents two pediatric cases of cerebral infarction associated with migraine.
- Neither case fully met the International Headache Society's diagnostic criteria for migrainous infarction.
Findings:
- The International Headache Society's diagnostic criteria for migrainous infarction may be too restrictive for children.
- Existing literature suggests these criteria may exclude many childhood cases of migraine-associated stroke.
Implications:
- Pediatric neurological assessments should consider migraine as a potential cause of stroke.
- Diagnostic criteria for migrainous infarction may require revision to better include pediatric cases.
- Further research is needed to refine the diagnosis of migrainous stroke in children.
Abstract:
Although migraine is an accepted cause of cerebral infarction in adults, this association is less well recognized in children. We present two children with migraine and cerebral infarction, which we regard as migrainous stroke, though neither patient fulfills all criteria of the International Headache Society for the diagnosis of migrainous infarction. Review of the literature concerning examples of migraine-associated stroke in childhood suggests that these criteria are too restrictive to comprise the majority of migrainous strokes, especially in this age group.