Patients with midlife migraine, especially migraine with aura (MA), have a higher risk of parkinsonian symptoms in later life, researchers reported online ahead of print September 17 in Neurology.
Ann I. Scher, PhD, and colleagues assessed 5,764 participants enrolled in the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility–Reykjavik Study cohort between 2002 and 2006 for symptoms of parkinsonism, diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, family history of Parkinson’s disease, and restless legs syndrome (RLS)/Willis-Ekbom disease (WED). The investigators compared the risk of parkinsonism and RLS/WED in later life among participants with and without migraine in midlife. Patients had a mean age of 51 (range, 33 to 65) when they were asked about their headache symptoms in the Reykjavik Study. All remaining assessments were conducted during late-life interviews when patients had a mean age of 77 (range, 66 to 96).
Dr. Scher’s group found that patients with midlife migraine, particularly MA, were more likely than others in later life to report parkinsonian symptoms (odds ratio [ORMA], 3.6) and to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (ORMA, 2.5). Women who had MA were more likely than others to have a parent (ORMA, 2.26) or sibling (ORMA, 1.78) with Parkinson’s disease. The risk of RLS/WED in later life was increased for headache in general. These associations were independent of cardiovascular disease and presumed ischemic lesions on MRI.
“We found that subjects with a midlife history of headache were, about 25 years later, more likely than others to report movement disorder symptoms (parkinsonism and RLS/WED), to have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and to have a family history of Parkinson’s disease (women),” stated Dr. Scher, Professor of Epidemiology, Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues. “Some findings differed by headache type. Risk of late-life RLS/WED was increased for all types of headache.
“Our finding linking migraine with different indicators of parkinsonism suggests shared cerebral vulnerability that could reflect common pathology, genetic or environmental risk factors, or changes in the brain from one condition that increases the likelihood of symptoms reflecting the other conditions,” Dr. Scher and colleagues concluded.”
—Colby Stong