Brain Changes in Migraines – Neuroscience News

Overview: A new neuroimaging study identifies that migraine sufferers have enlarged perivascular spaces in a brain region called the central semioval.

sauce: RSNA

A new study confirms for the first time that the perivascular spaces in the brain are enlarged in migraine patients.

The results of this study will be presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

“In people with chronic migraine and episodic migraine without aura, there are significant changes in the perivascular space in a brain region called the centriole semiovale,” said study co-author and MD candidate at Keck University School of Medicine. author Wilson Shue said. Southern California in Los Angeles. “These changes have never been reported before.”

Migraine is a common, often debilitating condition that presents with severe recurring headaches. Migraines can also cause nausea, weakness, and photosensitivity. According to the American Migraine Foundation, he has more than 37 million migraine headaches in the United States, and up to 148 million people worldwide suffer from chronic migraines.

The perivascular space is the fluid-filled space surrounding the blood vessels in the brain. They are most commonly located along the basal ganglia and white matter of the cerebrum and along the optic nerve tract.

The perivascular space is affected by several factors, including blood-brain barrier abnormalities and inflammation. Enlargement of the perivascular space may be a signal of underlying small vessel disease.

“The perivascular space is part of the fluid clearance system in the brain,” said Xu. “Studying how they contribute to migraine may help us better understand the complexities of how migraines occur.”

Xu and colleagues set out to identify an association between migraine and perivascular space enlargement. Researchers used ultra-high-field 7T MRI to compare structural microvascular changes in different types of migraine.

“To our knowledge, this is the first study to use ultra-high-resolution MRI to study migraine-induced changes in the brain, especially perivascular microvascular changes,” said Xu.

“Because 7T MRI can produce images of the brain with much higher resolution and superior quality than other MRI types, it can be used to show much smaller changes that occur in brain tissue after a migraine headache.”

Study participants included 10 with chronic migraine, 10 with episodic migraine without aura, and 5 age-matched healthy controls. All patients were between the ages of 25 and 60. Patients with overt cognitive impairment, brain tumors, previous intracranial surgery, MRI contraindications and claustrophobia were excluded from the study.

The researchers calculated the expansion of the perivascular space in the central semiovule (central white matter) and basal ganglia regions of the brain. White matter hyperintensity, a lesion that “glows” on MRI, was measured using the Fazekas scale.

Cerebral microbleeds were assessed with the Microbleed Anatomical Rating Scale. Researchers also collected clinical data such as disease duration and severity, symptoms at scan, presence of aura, and headache profile.

Statistical analysis revealed that the number of enlarged perivascular spaces in the central semiovule was significantly higher in migraine patients compared with healthy controls. In addition, increased perivascular space volume in the central semiovule correlated with deep white matter hyperintensity in migraine patients.

“When we studied chronic migraine and episodic migraine without aura, we found that the perivascular space was greater centrally in the semiovule in both types of migraine,” Xu said. I’m here.

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“While we did not find significant changes in the severity of white matter lesions in patients with and without migraine, these white matter lesions were significantly associated with the presence of perivascular space enlargement.” , suggesting that changes in the perivascular space may lead to the future development of more white matter lesions.”

The researchers hypothesize that significant differences in the perivascular space in migraine patients compared to healthy controls may suggest disruption of lymphatic vessels in the brain.

The glymphatic system is a waste clearance system that utilizes perivascular channels that help clear soluble proteins and metabolites from the central nervous system.

However, it is unclear whether such changes influence migraine development or are attributed to migraine headache. It would better establish the relationship between onset and type.

“Our findings will inspire future large-scale studies to continue investigating how alterations in the brain’s microvessels and blood supply contribute to different migraine types. It could be useful,” said Xu. “Ultimately, this could help develop new, personalized methods for diagnosing and treating migraine.”

Co-authors are Brendon Chou, Giuseppe Barisano, Raymond Huang, Soniya Pinto, MD, Daniel Chang Phung, MD, Soma Sahai-Srivastava, Alexander Lerner, MD, and Nasim Sheikh Bahaei, MD, FRCR.

About this migraine and neurology research news

author: Linda Brooks
sauce: RSNA
contact: Linda Brooks – RSNA
image: Images credited to RSNA and Wilson Xu

Original research: The findings will be presented at the 108th Scientific and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.