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3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
Evidence for a vascular factor in migraine.
Mohammad S Asghar1, Adam E Hansen, Faisal M Amin
1Danish Headache Center and Department of Neurology, Glostrup Hospital, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Annals of Neurology
|March 19, 2011
Summary
Migraine without aura involves blood vessel dilation in the head and brain. Treatment with sumatriptan reduced headache and constricted extracranial vessels, suggesting vascular mechanisms in migraine.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Vascular Biology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Migraine pathophysiology is debated, with some theories excluding vascular involvement.
- Vascular mechanisms in migraine without aura require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of extra- and intracranial arterial diameter changes during migraine without aura.
- To assess the effect of sumatriptan on these vascular changes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized high-resolution direct magnetic resonance angiography to measure arterial circumference.
- Measured the middle meningeal artery (MMA) and middle cerebral artery (MCA) at baseline, during migraine, and after sumatriptan treatment.
Main Results:
- Significant dilatation of both MMA and MCA was observed during migraine attacks.
- Sumatriptan ameliorated headache and caused MMA contraction, but MCA diameter remained unchanged.
- Headache laterality correlated with localized vasodilatation in MMA and MCA.
Conclusions:
- Migraine without aura is associated with both extracranial and intracranial arterial dilatation.
- Headache location corresponds to the site of arterial dilatation.
- Extracranial arterial contraction, not intracranial, correlates with headache relief, implicating vascular mechanisms in migraine.
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