Migraine in patients with stroke and antiphospholipid antibodies

The association between migraine and antibodies against antiphospholipids is controversial. We investigated the prevalence and the clinical feature of migraine in patients with ischemic stroke and antiphospholipid antibodies. Data were obtained from the medical records of 162 consecutive patients with ischemic stroke over a 2-year period. Ten patients with antiphospholipid antibodies were prospectively identified. A history of migraine was present in 6 of these patients and in only 5 of the 152 patients with negative results for antiphospholipid antibodies (chi-square = 47.68; P < .0001). In the former, migraine had been for a long time the only clinical problem before the occurrence of the ischemic stroke. These findings suggest that migraine is frequent and can be an early and a prominent symptom in the antiphospholipid antibodies syndrome. Further studies are needed to fully elucidate the association of migraine and antiphospholipid antibodies. A better knowledge of this association could allow an early identification of patients at high risk of stroke.