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Late onset and early onset aura: the same disorder
Isabel Pavão Martins1, Tomás Goucha, Ines Mares
1Department of Clinical Neurosciences (UNIC), Lisbon Faculty of Medicine, Instituto de Medicina Molecular (IMM), Hospital de Sta Maria, 1600, Lisbon, Portugal. Isabel_Martins@fm.ul.pt
The Journal of Headache and Pain
|February 22, 2012
Summary
Late onset aura (LOA) in migraine patients over 45 is generally similar to early onset aura (EOA) in clinical features and imaging. However, LOA presentations may less frequently meet diagnostic criteria and often lack headache.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Neuroscience
- Clinical Medicine
Background:
- Late onset aura (LOA), defined as onset after 45 years, can present diagnostic challenges.
- Understanding the characteristics of LOA is crucial for accurate migraine diagnosis and management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare clinical features, vascular risk factors, and imaging findings between late onset aura (LOA) and early onset aura (EOA) in migraine patients.
- To identify potential differences in presentation between LOA and EOA.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study design.
- Inclusion of migraine aura patients aged over 44 years at their first visit.
- Comparison of demographic data, migraine history, aura symptoms, and imaging findings between LOA and EOA groups.
Main Results:
- No significant differences were observed in gender distribution, family/personal history of migraine without aura, aura symptom types, or imaging findings between LOA and EOA.
- Patients with LOA were more likely to not fulfill all International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-II) aura criteria and to lack headache.
- 77 cases were analyzed (51 EOA, 26 LOA).
Conclusions:
- Late onset aura (LOA) and early onset aura (EOA) are broadly similar in underlying characteristics.
- Differences in presentation, such as fulfilling diagnostic criteria and headache association, warrant further investigation.
- Prospective studies are recommended to better characterize LOA presentations.
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