title: Cerebral distribution of white matter lesions in migraine with aura patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of the study was to compare the cerebral distribution of white matter lesions (WMLs) between migraine patients with different aura symptoms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Migraine with aura (MA) patients were consecutively enrolled as part of the Shunt-Associated Migraine (SAM) study. According to clinical symptoms, aura was classified as motor, aphasic, sensory, visual or vertebrobasilar. Standard and FLAIR (fluid attenuated inversion recovery) T(2)-weighted MRI sequences were inspected for WMLs by three independent raters blinded to clinical data. WMLs were assessed in the periventricular areas (PV-WMLs) with the Fazekas scale and in the deep white matter (D-WMLs) with the Schelten's scale. Interobserver agreement was good to excellent (k = 0.64 to 0.96, p < .0001).
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and eighty-five patients (77% women) were included. Aura symptoms were classified as visual in 172 (99%) patients, sensory in 76 (42%), aphasic in 54 (30%), motor in 39 (21%) and vertebrobasilar in 17 (9%) patients. One hundred and four patients (57%) exhibited more than one type of aura. D-WMLs were mainly detected in the frontal lobes (86%). There was no association between type of aura and the presence of WMLs in any cerebral location.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Aura symptoms do not influence the cerebral distribution of WMLs associated with migraine disease.
authors.affiliation: Sacro Cuore Hospital, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rossato
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adami
authors.forename: V N
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Thijs
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cerini
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pozzi-Mucelli
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mazzucco
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Anzola
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Del Sette
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dinia
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Meneghetti
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zanferrari
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D020325:Migraine with Aura / Q000473:pathology*