Lifetime basilar migraine: a pontine syndrome?

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Nishant Kumar Mishra1, Carlo Cereda, Antonio Carota

  • 1Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland.

Headache
|December 18, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Basilar type migraine attacks, lasting over 70 years, were observed in an 82-year-old woman. Calcifications in the pontine tegmental nuclei may trigger these chronic basilar type migraine attacks.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Neuroimaging
  • Geriatric Medicine

Background:

  • Basilar type migraine is a rare subtype of migraine characterized by neurological symptoms originating in the brainstem.
  • Chronic migraine conditions require thorough investigation into potential underlying causes, especially in elderly patients.

Observation:

  • An 82-year-old female patient experienced basilar type migraine attacks for over seven decades with consistent symptom patterns.
  • Clinical and radiological assessments were performed to investigate the persistent migraine episodes.

Findings:

  • The patient exhibited gradual development of calcifications within the pontine tegmental nuclei.
  • Evidence suggests a correlation between these pontine tegmental nuclei calcifications and the triggering of basilar type migraine attacks.

Implications:

  • This case highlights a potential novel mechanism for basilar type migraine, involving pontine tegmental nuclei calcifications.
  • Further research into neuroimaging findings and calcification development may offer new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for chronic migraine subtypes.

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