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Journal of Pediatric Epilepsy 2012; 01(02): 113-116
DOI: 10.3233/PEP-2012-018
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart – New York

Prevalence of migraine in children with idiopathic/cryptogenic epilepsy

Gabriella Di Rosa
a   Department of Medical and Surgical Pediatrics, Unit of Infantile Neuropsychiatry, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy
,
Maria Spanò
a   Department of Medical and Surgical Pediatrics, Unit of Infantile Neuropsychiatry, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy
,
Patrizia Lenzo
a   Department of Medical and Surgical Pediatrics, Unit of Infantile Neuropsychiatry, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy
,
Eleonora Parisi
a   Department of Medical and Surgical Pediatrics, Unit of Infantile Neuropsychiatry, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy
,
Emanuela Tripodi
a   Department of Medical and Surgical Pediatrics, Unit of Infantile Neuropsychiatry, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy
,
Eva Germanò
a   Department of Medical and Surgical Pediatrics, Unit of Infantile Neuropsychiatry, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy
,
Rosamaria Siracusano
a   Department of Medical and Surgical Pediatrics, Unit of Infantile Neuropsychiatry, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy
,
Gaetano Tortorella
a   Department of Medical and Surgical Pediatrics, Unit of Infantile Neuropsychiatry, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy
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Publication History

12 January 2011

04 April 2011

Publication Date:
17 July 2015 (online)

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Abstract

The relationship between migraine and epilepsy has been previously investigated in the literature. Several pathogenetical hypotheses have related the two conditions including the suggestion of a common genetic origin. The purpose of our study was to analyze the rate of migraine in our epileptic children population from Southern Italy followed-up at our unit between 2002 to 2005. Clinical data were retrospectively obtained from the patients' medical records. Migraine was far more frequent in subjects with idiopathic or cryptogenic epilepsy vs. non-epileptic controls with a 16.5 times higher risk ratio in the subjects with idiopathic or cryptogenic epilepsy vs. controls. The group of patients with partial seizures had five-fold increased risk to have migraine compared to the group with generalized seizures. The plausible pathogenetic relationship between migraine and epilepsy needs to be further investigated in wider populations. The detection of a common background could provide evidence for a common and more effective pharmacological treatment of these two disorders.

Keywords

Migraine - idiopathic - cryptogenic - epilepsy - seizures