Migraine With Aura May Lead to Brain Lesions

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They found "infarct-like" brain lesions in 39 percent of the men and 25 percent of the women.

The lesions were very small areas of brain tissue damage, Launer said -- some as small as a pinhead. The researchers don't know exactly what causes the lesions.

Migraine with aura was reported in 361 participants. Brain lesions were found in 23 percent of the women in this group, compared with 14.5 percent of women without headaches. After adjusting the data for age, sex and follow-up time, the researchers found that women who had migraine with aura had nearly twice the risk of developing brain lesions later in life.

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No such association was found for men. Launer said this could be a chance finding because the study might not have included enough men with auras, or there could be something specific that occurs in women who have migraines with auras; the researchers just don't know.

"This study raises a lot of questions," said Dr. Bruce Silverman, a neurologist at Providence Hospital and Medical Center in Southfield, Mich. "I think these brain lesions definitely affect the function of the brain to some extent, and the more you have, the more chance it could be clinically relevant."

"If you suffer from migraine, it's important to seek attention and care for that," Silverman stressed. "It's not OK to just suffer in silence. You may be doing yourself greater harm and causing pathologic changes in the brain."

"Earlier treatment of migraine is important as a quality-of-life issue, but it may also have long-term benefit, maybe causing less of an anatomical effect," he said.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more on migraines and other headaches.

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