Migraine may include stroke risk

A history of migraine without aura is associated with the occurrence of spontaneous cervical artery dissection (sCAD), a blood vessel rupture that is a common cause of Stroke in young adults, Italian investigators report.

Studies examining a link between migraine and sCAD have yielded conflicting results.

To further clarify any relationship between the two conditions, Dr. Alessandro Pezzini, from Universita degli Studi di Brescia, and colleagues conducted a comparison study that included 72 patients with sCAD, 72 with Stroke due to other causes, and 72 without stroke.

A history of migraine was diagnosed in 60 percent of patients with sCAD. By contrast, just 30 percent of patients with other causes of Stroke and 18 percent of patients without Strokes had a history of migraines, the team reports in the medical journal Cephalalgia.

A family history of migraine was also associated with sCAD.

The association between migraine and sCAD was mostly due to migraine without aura - migraine with aura was no more prevalent among those with sCAD than those in the other two groups. Auras are non-pain symptoms that can accompany migraines, such as seeing flashing lights before the headache starts.

As to the reason for the association, the authors theorize that there may be a generalized blood vessel disorder that is responsible for both migraines and sCAD. Another possibility is that the association reflects shared susceptibility factors, they add.

SOURCE: Cephalalgia, August 2005.