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. 2018 Jul 2;18(1):93.
doi: 10.1186/s12883-018-1096-2.

Association of white matter hyperintensities with migraine features and prognosis

Hui Xie  1 , Qiang Zhang  1   2 , Kang Huo  1 , Rui Liu  1 , Zhi-Jie Jian  1 , Yi-Tong Bian  3 , Guo-Liang Li  4 , Dan Zhu  1 , Li-Hui Zhang  1 , Jian Yang  3 , Guo-Gang Luo  5
Affiliations

Association of white matter hyperintensities with migraine features and prognosis

Hui Xie et al. BMC Neurol. .

Abstract

Background: White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are frequently detected in migraine patients. However, their significance and correlation to migraine disease burden remain unclear. This study aims to examine the correlation of WMHs with migraine features and explore the relationship between WMHs and migraine prognosis.

Methods: A total of 69 migraineurs underwent MRI scans to evaluate WMHs. Migraine features were compared between patients with and without WMHs. After an average follow-up period of 3 years, these patients were divided into two groups, according to the reduction of headache frequency: improved and non-improved groups. The percentage and degree of WMHs were compared between these two groups.

Results: A total of 24 patients (34.8%) had WMHs. Patients with WMHs were significantly older (39.0 ± 7.9 vs. 30.6 ± 10.4 years, P < 0.001) and had a longer disease duration (median: 180.0 vs. 84.0 months, P = 0.013). Furthermore, 33 patients completed the follow up period (15 patients improved and 18 patients did not improve). Patients in the non-improved group had a higher frequency of WMHs (55.6% vs. 13.3%, P = 0.027) and median WMHs score (1.0 vs. 0.0, P = 0.030).

Conclusions: WMHs can predict unfavorable migraine prognosis. Furthermore, WMHs may have a closer association with age than migraine features.

Keywords: Clinical significance; Migraine; Prognosis; White matter hyperintensities.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The present study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU1AF2015 LSK-159). All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee, and the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. A written informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. For minor patients (< 16), the written consent form was obtained from the accompanying parents.

Consent for publication

A written consent form was obtained from all participants for potentially publishing their clinical data and images while protecting their personal information. For participants under the age of 16, we obtained the written consent form from their parents.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A flow chart demonstrating the study design
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A scatter plot showing the changing trend of disease duration with age
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Representative axial FLAIR images of WMHs: (a) Normal brain structures without white matter hyperintensity. b A punctate hyperintense lesion (arrow) in the right frontal lobe. c A confluent lesion (arrow) and some punctate lesions in the brain
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
(a-d) Bar charts characterizing the imaging features of WMHs in migraine patients: (a) a bar chart representing the anatomical distribution of WMHs, (b) a bar chart representing the recorded sizes of WMHs in migraine patients, (c) a bar chart representing the distribution of the number of WMHs per patient, and (d) a bar chart representing the distribution of WMHs scores
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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