Different degrees of right-to-left shunting predict migraine and stroke: data from 420 patients.

The authors analyzed the extent of right-to-left shunting in patients with migraine, patients with cryptogenic stroke, and controls. Patients with both migraine and stroke had larger shunts than did patients with migraine without stroke (p = 0.038), patients with no migraine with stroke (p = 0.007), and control patients (p < 0.0001). Patients with migraine have overall larger shunts than nonmigraineurs, particularly if they have had a stroke. Right-to-left shunting may be causally related to migraine and to the increased stroke risk of migraine.

Shunt-associated migraine responds favorably to atrial septal repair: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Transcatheter closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) has been reported to improve migraine in patients with cerebrovascular disorders in noncontrolled studies. The aim of the study was to compare the course of migraine assessed prospectively over a 12-month period in symptomatic (for cerebrovascular disease) and asymptomatic patients undergoing PFO closure and in patients with PFO treated medically. METHODS: Twenty-three stroke symptomatic (SS; 39+/-10 years of age; males/females [M/F] 5/18) and 27 stroke asymptomatic (SA; 40+/-12 years of age; M/F 5/22) patients with migraine underwent PFO closure. Twenty-seven patients with migraine and PFO (controls [CTRLS]; 36+/-11 years of age; M/F 4/23) were followed up medically. Migraine severity was assessed at baseline with a scale that takes into account the frequency, duration, and intensity of the attacks and the occurrence of aura (score range 0 to 10). Six months later, the patients were given a structured diary to annotate monthly with the same scale the characteristics of the attacks for the next 6 months. By the end of 1 year, the migraine score was averaged for the last 6 months. RESULTS: Baseline severity of migraine did not differ between groups (6.3 to 6.1 and 6.7 in SS, SA, and CTRLS groups, respectively). At the 1-year assessment, the overall migraine score had significantly improved by 3.7 and 2.8 points in SS and SA, respectively (P<0.001 on repeated-measure ANOVA), whereas it had nonsignificantly worsened by 0.1 points in CTRLS. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the improvement in SS and SA was independent of migraine type, age, and cerebrovascular risk factors. Twenty-one of 21 patients with migraine with aura in the CTRLS group still had aura at the end of follow-up, whereas only 3 of 14 among SA and 4 of 19 among SS continued to have migraine preceded by aura (P<0.0001 on Fisher exact test). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with medical treatment, closure of PFO brings about a significant overall improvement in migraine. This seems to occur irrespective of migraine type and of previous cerebrovascular disease. In addition to the overall improvement, in migraine with aura, the occurrence of aura is dramatically reduced.

Transcatheter closure of patent foramen ovale: a new migraine treatment?

Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is a very sensitive tool for detecting microembolic signals (MES) in the brain vessels after injection of air-mixed saline in case of right-to-left shunt (RLS). Patent foramen ovale (PFO) can be found in nearly one-half of migraineurs with aura, and, reciprocally, the prevalence of migraine in patients with stroke with PFO is exceedingly high. We aimed to monitor the passage of MES in the brain vessels during transcatheter closure of PFO and to subsequently follow-up patients for both the efficacy of the procedure and the severity of migraine. Seventeen patients suffering from migraine with aura (MA+, n = 8) or without aura (MA-, n = 9) scheduled to undergo transcatheter closure of PFO with Amplatzer PFO occluder devices for paradoxical cerebral embolism were monitored with contrast TCD (DWL, Germany) before, during, and after the procedure to estimate the magnitude of the shunt. Spontaneous embolization to the brain was also recorded. The patients were thereafter followed-up at 1, 3, and 6 months. A composite score of migraine severity, which included frequency, duration, and intensity of the attacks in the previous 3 months (range 0-10), was obtained at the time of the procedure and at the follow-up visits. Complete occlusion of PFO was achieved in all patients after 1 month in most cases. Preoperatively, the migraine score was 6.75 in MA+ and was 6 in MA--patients. After closure, the score dropped to 2.5 in MA+ and to 4.2 in MA--patients at the 6-month follow-up visit, the difference being statistically highly significant in both groups. Overall, 5 of 17 patients no longer complained of migraine, 10 of 17 were substantially improved, and two of 17 were unchanged at 6 months. Migraine aura disappeared in six of eight patients. Closure rate was very satisfactory, from a preoperative average bubble count of 42 to an average of 4 bubbles in the four patients in whom a small residual shunt was still detectable at the 6-month follow-up visit. TCD monitoring provides the most accurate assessment of RLS at the brain level. Closure of PFO with transcatheter devices results in the substantial relief of migraine in patients with stroke with large RLS.

Patent foramen ovale with paradoxical embolism: mid-term results of transcatheter closure in 256 patients.

The purpose of this study was to assess the safety and feasibility of percutaneous interventional closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) with or without atrial septal aneurysm (ASA) in symptomatic patients. Between June 1999 and June 2002, we performed transcatheter closure of PFO in 256 consecutive symptomatic patients (female/male = 1.45; mean age 48 +/- 16 years; range 14-75): ischemic stroke (n = 101), transient ischemic attack (n = 144), peripheral and coronary arterial embolism (n = 17); multiple events (n = 23); platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome (n = 2); refractory hypoxemia (n = 1); and migraine aura (n = 27). The implanted devices were an Amplatzer PFO Occluder (n = 248), a Gore-HELEX Septal Occluder (n = 4), and PFO STAR (n = 4). Most procedures (n = 176.69%) were done under two-dimensional intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) guidance alone; in the last 30 patients, 3D/4D ICE reconstruction (TomTec Imaging Systems) 6mbH was obtained. In 30 cases, ICE and contrast enhanced-TCD have been used simultaneously in the catheterization laboratory. The devices were placed correctly in all patients. Mean fluoroscopy time was 9.45 +/- 5 minutes (range = 2.5-35 minutes); mean procedural time was 57 +/- 21 minutes (range = 15-135 minutes). Total occlusion rate at follow-up (mean 19 months, range 1-33) was 98.1%. No significant recurrent neurological events were observed. Transcatheter closure of PFO with or without ASA is a safe and effective, minimally invasive procedure that ensures high closure rate and avoids life-long anticoagulation. Mid-term follow-up results appear favorable with respect to recurrent thromboembolic events.