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Updated: Feb 4, 2026
10:39
3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
18.8K
White matter diffusion abnormalities in migraine and medication overuse headache: A 1.5-T tract-based spatial
Yasushi Shibata1, Sumire Ishiyama2, Akira Matsushita3
1Department of Neurosurgery, Headache Clinic, Mito Medical Center, University of Tsukuba, Mito Kyodo General Hospital, Mito, Japan.
Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery
|September 25, 2018
Summary
Diffusion tensor imaging reveals reduced fractional anisotropy in the white matter of patients with migraine and medication overuse headache. These abnormalities may serve as potential biomarkers for diagnosing headache disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Neurology
- Medical Diagnostics
Background:
- Migraine and medication overuse headache are prevalent neurological conditions with unclear pathophysiology.
- Diagnosing chronic headache remains challenging, and conventional imaging lacks specificity.
- There is a need for sensitive diagnostic methods to accurately identify headache causes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate white matter integrity in migraine patients using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).
- To explore fractional anisotropy (FA) as a potential biomarker for differentiating headache types.
Main Methods:
- Voxel-wise tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) of 1.5-T DTI data were applied.
- 103 migraine patients and 46 healthy volunteers were analyzed.
- Fractional anisotropy values in white matter regions were compared between groups.
Main Results:
- Migraine with aura and medication overuse headache showed significant FA decrease in multiple white matter regions compared to controls.
- Migraine with aura without medication overuse headache also exhibited significant FA reduction.
- No correlation was found between disease duration/frequency and FA values in the corpus callosum.
Conclusions:
- 1.5-T DTI demonstrated significantly lower white matter FA in patients with medication overuse headache and migraine with aura.
- FA abnormalities may represent valuable biomarkers for headache diagnosis and management.
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