Investigation of cortical thickness and volume during spontaneous attacks of migraine without aura: a 3-Tesla MRI study

Abstract Background Structural imaging has revealed changes in cortical thickness in migraine patients compared to healthy controls is reported, but presence of dynamic cortical and subcortical changes during migraine attack versus inter-ictal phase is unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate possible changes in cortical thickness during spontaneous migraine attacks. We hypothesized that pain-related cortical area would be affected during the attack compared to an inter-ictal phase. Methods Twenty-five patients with migraine without aura underwent three-dimensional T1-weighted imaging on a 3-Tesla MRI scanner during spontaneous and untreated migraine attacks. Subsequently, 20 patients were scanned in the inter-ictal phase, while 5 patients did not show up for the inter-ictal scan. Four patients were excluded from the analysis because of bilateral migraine pain and another one patient was excluded due to technical error in the imaging. Longitudinal image processing was done using FreeSurfer. Repeated measures ANOVA was used for statistical analysis and to control for multiple comparison the level of significance was set at p = 0.025. Results In a total of 15 patients, we found reduced cortical thickness of the precentral (p = 0.023), pericalcarine (p = 0.024), and temporal pole (p = 0.017) cortices during the attack compared to the inter-ictal phase. Cortical volume was reduced in prefrontal (p = 0.018) and pericalcarine (p = 0.017) cortices. Hippocampus volume was increased during attack (p = 0.007). We found no correlations between the pain side or any other clinical parameters and the reduced cortical size. Conclusion Spontaneous migraine attacks are accompanied by transient reduced cortical thickness and volume in pain-related areas. The findings constitute a fingerprint of acute pain in migraine patients, which can be used as a possible biomarker to predict antimigraine treatment effect in future studies. Trial registration The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02202486).

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Boosting the Database: Three-Dimensional Visualization of Neurovascular Compression Syndromes Improved by High-Resolution 3 Tesla MRI

RöFo - Fortschritte auf dem Gebiet der Röntgenstrahlen und der bildgebenden Verfahren ◽

10.1055/s-2006-931850 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 178 (01) ◽

Author(s):

M Müller ◽

F Fischbach ◽

H Bruhn

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

3 Tesla ◽

Neurovascular Compression ◽

3 Tesla Mri ◽

Compression Syndromes

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Cognitive Correlates of Subregional Hippocampal Volumetry in Late Onset Depression: A 3 Tesla MRI Study

American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.jagp.2016.02.005 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. S132-S133

Author(s):

Sivakumar P. Thangaraju ◽

Srikanth Miriyala ◽

Nagalakshmi R M ◽

Harshita Vishwakarma ◽

Shivakumar Venkatram ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Late Onset ◽

3 Tesla ◽

Cognitive Correlates ◽

3 Tesla Mri ◽

Mri Study

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Is the Volume of the Caudate Nuclei Associated With Area of Secondary Hyperalgesia? – Protocol for a 3-Tesla MRI Study of Healthy Volunteers

JMIR Research Protocols ◽

10.2196/resprot.5680 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. e117 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Morten Sejer Hansen ◽

Mohammad Sohail Asghar ◽

Jørn Wetterslev ◽

Christian Bressen Pipper ◽

Johan Johan Mårtensson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthy Volunteers ◽

3 Tesla ◽

Secondary Hyperalgesia ◽

Caudate Nuclei ◽

3 Tesla Mri ◽

Mri Study

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Cortical metabolic and structural differences in patients with chronic migraine. An exploratory 18FDG-PET and MRI study

The Journal of Headache and Pain ◽

10.1186/s10194-021-01289-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Marta Torres-Ferrus ◽

Deborah Pareto ◽

Victor J Gallardo ◽

Gemma Cuberas-Borrós ◽

Alicia Alpuente ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chronic Migraine ◽

Cortical Thickness ◽

Fdg Pet ◽

Linear Models ◽

Episodic Migraine ◽

Frontal Pole ◽

Mean Values ◽

18Fdg Pet ◽

Temporal Pole ◽

Mri Study

Abstract Background To describe interictal brain structural and metabolic differences between patients with episodic migraine (EM), chronic migraine (CM) and healthy controls (HC). Methods This is an exploratory study including right-handed age-matched women with EM, CM and HC. On the same day, a sequential interictal scan was performed with 18FDG-PET and MRI. 3D T1-weighted images were segmented with FreeSurfer, normalized to a reference atlas and the mean values of metabolism, cortical thickness (CTh) and local gyrification index (IGI) were determined. Groups were compared using age-adjusted linear models, corrected for multiple comparisons. 18FDG-PET measurements between groups were also analysed adjusting by patient’s age, CTh and lGI. The variables independently associated with diagnosis were obtained using a logistic regression analysis. Results Fifteen patients (8 EM, 7 CM) and 11 HC were included. Morphometric data showed an increased CTh in 6 frontal areas (L/R-Caudal Middle Frontal, L/R-Rostral Middle Frontal, L-Medial Orbitofrontal and L-Superior Frontal) in CM patients compared to HC without differences for IGI. The structural adjusted analysis in CM showed a statistically significantly hypometabolism in 9 frontal areas (L-Lateral Orbitofrontal, L/R-Medial Orbitofrontal, L-Frontal Superior, R-Frontal pole, R-Parts Triangularis, L/R-Paracentral and R-Precentral) and 7 temporal areas (L/R-Insula, L/R-Inferior temporal, L/R-Temporal pole and R-Banks superior temporal sulcus) compared to HC. EM patients presented intermediate metabolic values between EM and HC (non-significant). Conclusions CM patients showed frontotemporal hypometabolism and increased frontal cortical thickness when compared to HC that may explain some cognitive and behavioural pain-processing and sensory integration alterations in CM patients. Combined information from sequential or simultaneous PET and MRI could optimize the study of complex functional neurological disorders such as migraine.

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