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Tremor in patients with migraine
Christian Duval1, Loretta Norton
1Département de Kianthropologie, Université du Québec in Montréal, Canada.
Headache
|May 31, 2006
Summary
Migraine patients do not show altered physiological tremor, suggesting essential tremor (ET) may arise from acute events rather than progressive changes. This research explores the link between migraine and ET.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Neuroscience
- Movement Disorders
Background:
- Migraine patients may have an increased risk of developing essential tremor (ET).
- Migraine is associated with a higher incidence of subclinical cerebellar vascular infarcts, a brain region implicated in ET.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if migraine patients without clinically evident ET exhibit subtle physiological tremor alterations.
- To determine if these tremor characteristics could predict the future onset of ET.
Main Methods:
- Physiological tremor was assessed in 30 migraine patients and healthy controls using a laser displacement sensor.
- Tremor was recorded under various conditions (rest, postural, loading) and analyzed for amplitude, frequency, and power distribution.
- Key tremor parameters were compared between groups and correlated with migraine duration.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in tremor characteristics were observed between migraine patients and controls.
- Tremor parameters did not correlate with the duration of migraine.
- Migraine patients with aura showed similar tremor profiles to those without aura and controls.
Conclusions:
- The findings do not support a progressive alteration in tremor mechanisms linking migraine and ET.
- If a connection exists, essential tremor in migraine patients may stem from acute events like stroke.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the relationship between migraine, cerebellar infarcts, and essential tremor.