Fact-sheet: Migraine
Updated on 09/17/2021 at 12:16 PM
View all RADEOS cases associated with this fact-sheet
Definition
Characteristic headache episodes separated by symptom-free intervals. No further work-up is
required when the presentation is typical.
Two types: migraine without aura and migraine with aura.
Clinical features
1/ Migraine without Aura
- Typically pulsatile, tends to worsen with physical exertion or concentration
- Features: location, onset, duration (4-72h) +/- nausea and vomiting, vasomotor signs
(changes in facial color), photophobia, phonophobia
- Complete recovery after the attack.
2/ Migraine with Aura
- Presence of focal neurological manifestations preceding or accompanying the migraine headache, classically contralateral to it.
- Gradual onset of the aura (> 5 min).
- Complete resolution within one hour, before or alongside the headache;
- Types: most common = visual aura and sensory aura. Others = word-finding difficulty or paraphasia, balance disorders. Exceptionally = ophthalmoplegia, hemiplegia.
Rarely, the migraine aura is not followed by headache --> diagnostic challenge.
MRI
Indicated only in cases of atypical clinical presentation.
