Microstructural changes of basal ganglia in migraine with restless legs syndrome: findings from a neuroimaging study

In this study, it is planned to investigate the integrity of the basal ganglia structures in migraineurs with restless legs syndrome (RLS) to explore this relationship. In this study, 58 patients who were diagnosed migraine and 51 healthy controls (HCs) were included. Patients diagnosed with migraine were divided into two groups: Group I (migraine without RLS) and Group II (migraine with RLS). The integrity of basal ganglia was evaluated with region of interest diffusion tensor imaging method which allows us to assess microstructural changes of the tissue. The mean age of the patients was 35.98 ± 7.92 years, and the mean age of the HCs was 33.84 ± 11.06. 84.5% (n = 49) of the patients were female and 15.5% (n = 9) were male. 82.4% (n = 42) of the HCs were female, 17.6% (n = 9) were male. The number of  the patients without RLS was 41 (Group I), and the number of the patients with RLS was 17 (Group II). When basal ganglia structures were compared between groups of the patients with and without RLS, the fractional anisotropy (FA) value of the left putamen differed (Group I: 0.30 ± 0.06 vs. Group II: 0.25 ± 0.7, p = 0.01). The significant relationship was found attack frequency and presence of RLS with left putamen FA values according to multiple regression analysis. It was determined in this study that the changes in the microstructure of putamen, one of the basal ganglia structures, may be associated with the presence of RLS in migraineurs.