Migraine

Migraine is a form of headache, usually very intense and disabling. It is a neurologic disease. The word "migraine" comes from the Greek construction ?????????? (hemikranion, pain affecting one side of the head) http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=migraine&r=67.

Symptoms

Migraine is a neurological disease characterized by flare-ups generally referred to as "migraine attacks". It is entirely possible to have a migraine attack marked by other symptoms and no headache at all. Therefore, it is not strictly accurate to categorize migraine as a "headache". In children and young adults, migraine can also affect the abdominal region causing an "abdominal migraine".

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Genetic factors and family history are important in migraine. However, most migraine sufferers do not carry the genes so far identified that cause rare familial migraine syndromes.

Related Topics:
Genetic - Genes

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Migraine is characterized by attacks of moderate or severe pain, and persons suffering from migraine typically have symptoms such as: moderate to severe pain on one or both sides of the head which may throb or pulse, nausea, vomiting, photophobia and phonophobia, or pain that worsens with movement. The symptoms and their timing vary considerably among migraine sufferers, and to a lesser extent from one migraine attack to the next. Migraine had been thought to be caused by vasodilation in the head and neck, however newer research suggests the cause of the pain itself is from activation of the trigeminal nerve. The trigger of the migraine may be overactivity of nerve cells in certain areas of the brain (for example, the raphe nucleus). Dilation of the blood vessels is now known to be caused from chemicals released from nerve terminals and inflammatory cells.

Related Topics:
Pain - Head - Nausea - Photophobia - Phonophobia - Vasodilation - Neck - Trigeminal nerve - Raphe nucleus

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In classical migraine or migraine with aura the attack is preceded or succeded by a group of specific symptoms called aura, most commonly experienced as a visual disturbance prior to the attack. Aura usually lasts less than 60 minutes, and in those who suffer classical migraine there is generally little time between the onset of aura and the onset of the attack. Common migraine or migraine without aura, in contrast to classical migraine, lacks any manifestations associated with headache. Some experience aura without migraine, a condition formerly called amigrainous migraine or optical migraine, now usually called acephalgic migraine. Although sometimes comparable in severity, the symptoms of migraine differ from those of cluster headache.

Related Topics:
Aura - Acephalgic migraine - Cluster headache

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An example of aura accompanying a classical migraine attack is a multicolored zig-zag pattern which grows from a small dot until it covers a large part of the visual field of one eye (sometimes both). Other types of visual aura involve distortions in perception of color, such as color bleeding or the appearance of halos, or as a white spot in the visual field, similar to when a camera flash temporarily "blinds" your vision. While the most common type of aura is visual, it can manifest as any specific neurological symptom complex. Some experience tingling sensations called paresthesias or disturbances of other regions of the brain (such as language ability or smell) instead of a visual aura, either as an occasional alternate or as their normal aura. Aura need not be related to the five senses: many migraineurs experience a prodrome, a vague feeling that things are just not right. While the types and severity of aura can be extremely diverse, a given sufferer will generally experience similar manifestations of aura with each migraine attack.

Related Topics:
Paresthesia - Prodrome

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Migraine can accompany, in many cases, another type of headache called tension headache. Studies have demonstrated that, in patients who get both migraines and tension headaches, their tension headaches will respond to their usual migraine treatment. This is in contrast to patients who get only tension headaches.

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Migraines can be associated with seizures. Stroke symptoms are seen in some patients and are known as complicated migraine; these symptoms should not be permanent.

Related Topics:
Seizure - Stroke

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Migraine often runs in families and starts in adolescence, although evidence indicates that it starts also in childhood (including infants) or even in utero. In children, migraine has some distinct features: headache is more often bilateral or difficult to localize, the patient is unable to describe the symptoms with significant accuracy; in infants, migraine attacks may be manifested by periods of somnolence or irritability.

Related Topics:
Adolescence - In utero

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Because their symptoms vary, an intense headache may be misdiagnosed as a migraine by a layperson. Indeed, many other headaches, some of them caused by very serious diseases (like a brain tumour, hydrocephalus, brain vascular disorders) may have a great resemblance to the clinical picture of migraine and can lead to misdiagnosis. Where possible, see a doctor to determine if the headaches are a symptom of something else.

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