Neuro-imaging studies in migraine]

Neuroimaging studies in migraine patients are useful for three important reasons. 1) Brain imaging techniques and primarily CT-scan should be used in every patient with atypical or complicated migraine to rule out a vascular malformation or brain tumor; 2) angiography, which was extensively used in the 1960's and 1970's, discloses a number of arterial anomalies including spasm or occlusion, of unclear pathogenic significance; 3) T2-weighted magnetic resonance images in migraine often show increased signals generated by the white matter; this finding is as yet poorly understood but is undoubtedly related to factors very different from those seen in elderly patients or patients with vascular risk factors.