Migraine & Juvenile stroke could be associated

The February issue of Headache reported a study that confirms the findings of previous studies that there is a significant association between juvenile stroke and migraine in women. The researchers involved 160 consecutive patients, less than 46years of age with first-ever ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack and 160 strictly sex- and age-matched controls, in the study. They excluded patients who were suffering from arterial dissection, brain haemorrhage, cranial sinus thrombosis, lacunar stroke or migrainous infarction.

The investigators found that, for the total population, migraine was a significant risk factor for juvenile stroke, with an odds ratio of 2.11. For the subgroups - below the age of 35years and the female subgroup - the odds ratio was higher at 3.26 and 2.68 respectively. The investigators believed that the data suggested that migraine was an even more significant risk factor for patients aged less than 35 years of age. They added that migraine was found to be independent from other vascular risk factors, from aetiology and from the territory of stroke.