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Updated: Jul 24, 2026
3D-Neuronavigation In Vivo Through a Patient's Brain During a Spontaneous Migraine Headache
Published on: June 2, 2014
Association between multiple sclerosis lesion location, migraine and tension-type headache: A cross-sectional study
Panagiotis Gklinos1, Maria-Eleftheria Evangelopoulos1, Georgios Velonakis2
1First Neurology Department, Eginition University Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens 11528 Athens, Greece.
Background:
An increased prevalence of migraine in people with MS (pwMS) has been documented over the past decade, with one of the leading explanations being the presence of lesions within regions, critical for pain modulation.
Objective:
To investigate whether lesions within pain areas are associated with primary headaches in pwMS.
Methods:
PwMS fulfilling the 2017 Mc Donald criteria were recruited prospectively in the study. Patients underwent a detailed neurological examination and assesment for primary headache disorders. Brain MRI scans were obtained and assessed. Odd-ratios (ORs) were calculated to examine the potential association of lesions within pain-perceiving brain regions and primary headache disorders.
Results:
A total of 96 participants were included in the study. After adjusting for potential confounding factors, PAG lesions were statistically significantly associated with migraine (OR = 4.7; 95 % CI: 1.5 to 14.59; p = 0.008). Similarly, thalamic and cortical lesions were also statistically significantly associated with an increased prevalence of migraine (OR = 7.2; 95 %CI: 1.37 to 37.79; p = 0.02 and OR = 9.1; 95 %CI: 1.53 to 54.72; p = 0.02 respectively) CONCLUSIONS: Lesions within critical brain regions are associated with migraine and are possibly the leading cause of the increased prevalence of migraine in pwMS.
