The relationship of migraine and stroke

Migraine, a common disorder of uncertain pathogenesis, is linked to ischemi a in a variety of ways. In some cases the relationship is coincidental. In others, migraine may be causally related to stroke, although the mechanism of migrainous stroke, if not due to arterial dissection, is unclear. In you ng women, additional risk factors for stroke such as cigarette smoking, use of combined oral contraceptives and anticardiolipin antibody immunoreactiv ity may potentiate migraine, especially migraine with aura, as a stroke ris k factor. The complexity of the relationship is highlighted in certain gene tic conditions such as cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcor tical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy and mitochondrial encephalopathy wit h lactic acidosis and stroke in which migraine and stroke are both prominen t clinical features. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG. Basel.