Patients with migraine headache role of MR imaging of the brain

ABSTRACT

To prospectively evaluate the role of MR imaging in cases of migraine headache and determine if there are associated brain parenchymal changes and to compare the incidence of these lesions in our study compared to the previous reports concerning the type of migraine, age and sex of the patients. Thirty-two patients with clinical diagnosis of migraine headache, with an average age of 29 years, were evaluated by MR imaging. Each patient was examined in the axial plane with long TR/short and long TE images. Eighteen patients also had additional T 1-W short TR/short TE MR scans, enhancement with gadopentate dimeglumine was used in four patients. Foci of high signal intensities in the deep white matter and periventricular regions were detected on T2 W MR images in four cases and a venous angioma in only two cases. Our study demonstrated that parenchymal brain abnormalities may be found in cases of migraine headache in only 12% of the included cases, while the previously reported studies have indicated that the parenchymal brain abnormalities may be found in up to 40% of patients with migraine headache, also the white matter changes were found in complicated cases of migraine headache and as the age of the patient advances compared to the other types of migraine and those less than 40 years and these white matter changes are non specific