Some Migraines Might Leave Their Marks

Women who reported migraines with aura in midlife were twice as likely to exhibit cerebellar infarcts on MRI, with unknown clinical significance, decades later.

Migraine with aura is associated with excess risk for cerebrovascular or cardiovascular disease (CVD; JW Womens Health Jul 23 2009). To determine whether midlife migraines are associated with incidence of late-life infarct-like lesions, researchers analyzed data from 2693 women and 1996 men who had complete information from the AGES-Reykjavik Study, a population-based cohort study established in Iceland in 1967 to prospectively study CVD. Participants underwent interviews at midlife (mean age, 51) to assess headache characteristics, demographics, and CV risks. Interviews also were conducted late in life (mean age, 76) in conjunction with brain magnetic resonance imaging and CV risk assessment.

Seventeen percent of women reported migraines at…

Reviewing Author

Wendy S. Biggs, MD

Some Migraines Might Leave Their Marks

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Reviewing Author