title: Is migraine a lateralization defect?
abstract: Migraine often co-occurs with patent foramen ovale (PFO), and some people have suggested surgical closure as an efficient treatment for migraine. Prospective studies, however, do not report radical effect of PFO surgery on migraine. Here, we examined the hypothesis that PFO and migraine may cooccur as two independent manifestations of lateralization defect during embryonic development. We measured the absolute displacement of a midline structure, the pineal gland, on brain scans of 39 migraineurs and 26 controls. We found a significant asymmetry of the pineal gland in migraineurs compared with controls. Our data suggest that migraine's circadian component and its association with PFO may be linked to a lateralization defect during embryogenesis, which could be a result from abnormal serotonin regulation.
authors.affiliation: AV-Torppa Oy, Lohja bNational Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Jani
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kaaro
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Partonen
authors.forename: Paulami
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Naik
authors.forename: Nouchine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hadjikhani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D054092:Foramen Ovale, Patent / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000002:abnormalities*; D011859:Radiography; D012307:Risk Factors