IS POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY A USEFUL TOOL FOR STUDYING MIGRAINE

Despite the high prevalence of migraine in the population, the pathoph ysiology of this condition remains poorly understood. Vascular changes have been postulated. With positron emission tomography and various r adiotracers, it is possible to have a non-invasive access to a number of parameters of interest in migraine research. These are presented an d discussed in this article. PET has great potential for answering som e basic questions concerning the physiological or biochemical changes that can occur during and between migraine attacks. Few studies have b een published, however, probably because of (i) limitations inherent t o the technique and (ii) problems study design.