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The Journal of Headache and Pain
Published in: The Journal of Headache and Pain 1/2019

Open Access 01-12-2019 | Migraine | Research article

Structural changes of cerebellum and brainstem in migraine without aura

Authors: Zhaoxia Qin, Xin-Wei He, Jilei Zhang, Shuai Xu, Ge-Fei Li, Jingjing Su, Yan-Hui Shi, Shiyu Ban, Yue Hu, Yi-Sheng Liu, Mei-Ting Zhuang, Rong Zhao, Xiao-Lei Shen, Jianqi Li, Jian-Ren Liu, Xiaoxia Du

Published in: The Journal of Headache and Pain | Issue 1/2019

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Abstract

Background

Increasing evidence has suggested that the cerebellum is associated with pain and migraine. In addition, the descending pain system of the brainstem is the major site of trigeminal pain processing and modulation and has been discussed as a main player in the pathophysiology of migraine. Cerebellar and brainstem structural changes associated with migraineurs remain to be further investigated.

Methods

Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) (50 controls, 50 migraineurs without aura (MWoAs)) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) (46 controls, 46 MWoAs) were used to assess cerebellum and brainstem anatomical alterations associated with MWoAs. We utilized a spatially unbiased infratentorial template toolbox (SUIT) to perform cerebellum and brainstem optimized VBM and DTI analysis. We extracted the average diffusion values from a probabilistic cerebellar white matter atlas to investigate whether MWoAs exhibited microstructure alterations in the cerebellar peduncle tracts.

Results

MWoAs showed decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) in the vermis VI extending to the bilateral lobules V and VI of the cerebellum. We also found higher axial diffusivity (AD), mean diffusivity (MD), and radial diffusivity (RD) in the right inferior cerebellum peduncle tract in MWoAs. MWoAs exhibited both reduced gray matter volume and increased AD, MD and RD in the spinal trigeminal nucleus (SpV).

Conclusion

MWoAs exhibited microstructural changes in the cerebellum and the local brainstem. These structural differences might contribute to dysfunction of the transmission and modulation of noxious information, trigeminal nociception, and conduction and integration of multimodal information in MWoAs. These findings further suggest involvement of the cerebellum and the brainstem in the pathology of migraine without aura.
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Metadata
Title
Structural changes of cerebellum and brainstem in migraine without aura
Authors
Zhaoxia Qin
Xin-Wei He
Jilei Zhang
Shuai Xu
Ge-Fei Li
Jingjing Su
Yan-Hui Shi
Shiyu Ban
Yue Hu
Yi-Sheng Liu
Mei-Ting Zhuang
Rong Zhao
Xiao-Lei Shen
Jianqi Li
Jian-Ren Liu
Xiaoxia Du
Publication date
01-12-2019
Publisher
Springer Milan
Keywords
Migraine
Aura
Published in
The Journal of Headache and Pain / Issue 1/2019
Print ISSN: 1129-2369
Electronic ISSN: 1129-2377
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s10194-019-1045-5

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