Vestibular migraine

Abstract

Vestibular migraine is now considered a distinct diagnostic entity by both the Barany Society and the International Headache Society. The recognition of vestibular migraine as a diagnostic entity required decades and was presaged by several reports indicating that a large proportion of patients with migraine headaches have vestibular symptoms and that a large proportion of patients with undiagnosed episodic vestibular symptoms have migraine headache. Despite the availability of diagnostic criteria for vestibular migraine, challenges to diagnosis include variability in terms of the character of dizziness, the presence or absence of clearly defined attacks, the duration of attacks, and the temporal association between headache or other migrainous features and vestibular symptoms. Also, symptoms of vestibular migraine often overlap with symptoms of other causes of dizziness, especially Ménière's disease and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). This article will discuss the demographics, epidemiology, clinical manifestations, physical examination findings, laboratory testing, comorbidities, treatment options, and pathophysiology of vestibular migraine. Future research in the field of vestibular migraine should include both clinical and basic science efforts to better understand the pathophysiology of this condition. Controlled treatment trials for vestibular migraine are desperately needed.

Keywords: dizziness; headache; imbalance; migraine; vertigo; vestibular.