E-Pearl of the Week: Vestibular Migraine

October 10, 2012

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October 9, 2012

Vestibular Migraine

Migraine should be considered as a possible cause in patients with episodic vertigo, particularly when alternative causes have been excluded. This diagnosis can be challenging to make because the coincidence alone of migraine and vertigo is not specific for a diagnosis of vestibular migraine. Furthermore, less than half of patients with vestibular migraine have a fixed association of headache with their vertigo. When patients do not have prominent concurrent headaches, the diagnosis rests on the presence of other migrainous symptoms such as photosensitivity, phonophobia, or visual auras like scintillating scotoma.

Reference

1. Neuhauser H, Leopold M, von Brevern M, Arnold G, Lempert T. The interrelations of migraine, vertigo, and migrainous vertigo. Neurology 2001;56:436–441.
2. Radtke A, von Brevern M, Neuhauser H, Hottenrott T, Lempert T. Vestibular migraine: long–term follow–up of clinical symptoms and vestibulo–cochlear findings. Neurology 2012; 79: 1607–1614.

Submitted by: Jennifer E. Fugate, DO

Disclosure: Dr. Fugate serves on the editorial team for the Neurology® Resident and Fellow Section.

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