Search

Migraine is a neurovascular disorder characterized by autonomic nervous system dysfunction and severe headache attacks. Studies have shown that changes in the intracranial vessels during migraine have an important role in the pathophysiology. Many studies have been conducted on the increased risk of stroke in patients with migraine, but insufficient data are available on the mechanism underlying the increase. This study aimed to evaluate basal cerebral blood flow velocity and vasomotor reactivity in patients with chronic migraine. We evaluated 38 patients with chronic migraine. Three of them were excluded because they had auras and four of them were excluded because of their use of medication that can affect cerebral blood flow velocity and breath holding index (beta or calcium channel blockers). Our study population consisted of 31 patients with chronic migraine without aura and 29 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals who were not taking any medication. The mean blood flow velocity and breath holding index were measured on both sides from the middle cerebral artery and posterior cerebral artery, with temporal window insonation. The breath holding index for middle cerebral artery and posterior cerebral artery was significantly lower in the migraine group compared to that of the control group (p < 0.05).The vasomotor reactivity indicates the dilatation potential of a vessel, and it is closely related to autoregulation. According to our results, the vasodilator response of cerebral arterioles to hypercapnia was lower in patients with chronic migraine. These findings showed the existence of impairments in the harmonic cerebral hemodynamic mechanisms in patients with chronic migraine. This finding also supports the existing idea of an increased risk of stroke in patients with chronic migraine due to impaired vasomotor reactivity.

The present study was designed to describe the socio-demographic, clinical, and polysomnographic features of patients diagnosed with narcolepsy in our sleep center. This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 181 patients diagnosed with narcolepsy based on the results of clinical evaluation, polysomnography (PSG), and multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) between 1993 and 2009. Approximately 70% of the patients had cataplexy, whereas 42% had hallucinations and 55.8% had sleep paralysis. Although sleep efficiency was higher (91.28 ± 5.89%) in patients with narcolepsy, they woke frequently during the night, and their percentages of deep sleep were low (stage 3, 5.12 ± 3.08%, stage 4, 9.60 ± 7.10%). Our study group was divided into two based on age: individuals aged30 years (n = 152) and30 years (n = 29). REM latency on PSG was shorter (t = 2.96, p = 0.004) and sleep onset REM (SOREM) on MSLT was higher (t = 2.56, p = 0.011) in the older group than in the younger group. Cataplexy is seen in most patients with narcolepsy. In older patients, REM latency on PSG is shorter and the number of SOREM on MSLT is higher.