Vestibular migraine: clinical aspects and pathophysiology.

Joseph M Furman, Dawn A Marcus, Carey D Balaban

Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. furmanjm@upmc.edu

Lancet neurology 2013 Jul

filter terms:

Vestibular migraine is becoming recognised as a distinct clinical entity that accounts for a high proportion of patients with vestibular symptoms. A temporal overlap between vestibular symptoms, such as vertigo and head-movement intolerance, and migraine symptoms, such as headache, photophobia, and phonophobia, is a requisite diagnostic criterion. Physical examination and laboratory testing are usually normal in vestibular migraine but can be used to rule out other vestibular disorders with overlapping symptoms. The pathophysiology of vestibular migraine is incompletely understood but plausibly could include neuroanatomical pathways to and from central vestibular structures and neurochemical modulation via the locus coeruleus and raphe nuclei. In the absence of controlled trials, treatment options for patients with vestibular migraine largely mirror those for migraine headache. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.