|
Migraine May Include Stroke Risk
Last Updated: 2005-08-30 15:52:22 -0400 (Reuters Health)
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - 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.
|
