Longitudinal changes in cerebral blood flow velocities in different clinical courses of migraine. (September 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lee, Mi Ji; Chu, Min Kyung; Choi, Hanna; Choi, Hyun Ah; Lee, Chungbin; Chung, Chin-Sang
• Is Part Of: Cephalalgia. Volume 37:Number 10(2017)
• Page Start: 927
• Page End: 937
• Publication Date: 2017-09
• Subjects: Migraine -- prognosis -- cerebral hemodynamics -- transcranial Doppler; Headache -- Periodicals; 616.8491
• DOI: 10.1177/0333102416658715
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0333-1024

Abstract

Objective: To assess longitudinal changes in cerebral blood flow velocities (ΔCBFVs) according to the clinical course of migraine. Methods: We retrospectively included migraine patients with two or more attacks per month at baseline who were followed up within 2 years with transcranial Doppler in a tertiary headache clinic. ΔCBFVs were analyzed in relation to clinical courses, defined as remission (0–1 headache days/month), persistence (2–14/month), or progression (≥15/month) in episodic migraine (EM), and conversion to EM (<15/month) and persistence (≥15/month) in chronic migraine (CM). Results: A total of 166 patients (90 EM and 76 CM) were included. In EM, the remission group ( n = 30) showed a decrease in CBFV in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) and the basilar artery (BA). The progression group ( n = 10) showed increasing CBFVs in the bilateral MCAs. Patients with the persistence course ( n = 50) showed generally unchanged CBFVs. In CM, ΔCBFVs decreased in the BA and increased in the posterior cerebral artery (PCA) after conversion to EM ( n = 61), whereas they remained unchanged in the persistence group ( n = 15). In all patients, % change in headache days was positively correlated with the %ΔCBFVs of the bilateral MCAs and the BA. Conclusions: CBFV changes are associated with the different clinical courses of migraine. The association is more prominent in EM than CM.