Are MRI findings associated with headaches?

January 01, 0001

Are MRI findings associated with headaches?

Headaches are a common problem, and imaging studies of the brain are ordered in some headache patients. These French and US researchers evaluated whether headaches were associated with findings on MRI and cognition via a population based, cross sectional study. (n= 780).

The researchers found: "163 (20.9%) participants reported a history of severe headache and 116 had migraine, of whom 17 (14.7%) reported aura symptoms. An association was found between any history of severe headache and increasing volume of white matter hyperintensities. The adjusted odds ratio of being in the highest third for total volume of white matter hyperintensities was 2.0 for participants with any history of severe headache when compared with participants without severe headache being in the lowest third. The association pattern was similar for all headache types. Migraine with aura was the only headache type strongly associated with volume of deep white matter hyperintensities (highest third odds ratio 12.4) and with brain infarcts (3.4). The location of infarcts was predominantly outside the cerebellum and brain stem. Evidence was lacking for cognitive impairment for any headache type with or without brain lesions."

The researchers concluded: "In this population based study, any history of severe headache was associated with an increased volume of white matter hyperintensities. Migraine with aura was the only headache type associated with brain infarcts. Evidence that headache of any type by itself or in combination with brain lesions was associated with cognitive impairment was lacking."

This study finds some correlation between MRI findings and headache syndromes, although more study is warranted.

For the full abstract, click here.

BMJ 342:c7357, 18 January 2010 © 2011 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.
Headache, migraine, and structural brain lesions and function: population based Epidemiology of Vascular Ageing-MRI study. Tobias Kurth, Shajahal Mohamed, Pauline Maillard, et al. Correspondence to T Kurth: [email protected]

Category: N. Neurological. Keywords: headache, migraine, MRI, white matter lesions, infarct, cross- sectional study, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Paul Schaefer, Toledo, Ohio. Posted on Global Family Doctor 1 February 2011

Pearls are an independent product of the Cochrane primary care group and are meant for educational use and not to guide clinical care.

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