Sympathetic Skin Responses from the Neck Area in Patients with Unilateral Migraine

In this study, in patients with unilateral migraine headache and in normal controls, it was aimed to assess the sympathetic function during attack, post attack, and interval periods and to compare these findings by recording sympathetic skin responses from the neck area, which was not studied before.

A total of 37 unilateral patients with migraine (30 women, seven men) who fulfilled the criteria of International Headache Society (2004) were recruited from our outpatient clinic. The control group consisted of 21 healthy individuals (16 women, five men) who are employees or students of our Medical Faculty. Mean latency and maximum amplitude values of sympathetic skin responses obtained from neck areas of the patients during attack, post attack, and interval periods were calculated. We compared the mean latency and the maximum amplitude values of the symptomatic side with the data of the asymptomatic side and with the data of the control group. We also compared the responses of the patients with right-sided headache with the responses of the patients with left-sided headache. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS.

On the neck area, we observed sympathetic hypo-function in the attack and interval periods and a relative hyper-function in the post attack period bilaterally, regardless of the symptomatic side.

These findings suggest that there is ongoing bilateral sympathetic hypo-function in the neck area and there occurs a temporary increase in the function of sympathetic sudomotor activity in the recovery period of headaches.