Brain pH in migraine: an in vivo phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy study

The intracellular pH (pHi) of cerebral cortex was measured in migraine patients by use of in vivo phosphorus-31 NMR spectroscopy. No changes in pHi were measured during a migraine attack. The long-standing concept that the headache of migraine is due to cerebral vasodilation induced by prodromal vasospasm-induced ischemic acidosis is not substantiated.