As many as 90% of people who have endured a concussion (also referred to as a mild traumatic brain injury, or TBI) have lingering headaches called posttraumatic headache. Posttraumatic migraine, a specific type of headache disorder with symptoms that range far beyond head pain, is particularly common following mild TBI. Compared to those who do not have posttraumatic migraine following mild TBI, people with posttraumatic migraine have lower scores on cognitive tests (like memory, recall, and ability to understand abstract ideas), a longer recovery period, and an aggravation of other post-head injury symptoms.

In a study published Feb. 1 in the journal Radiology, researchers sought to determine whether certain brain imaging techniques and mathematical models could predict whether a person would experience migraine following a concussion. They were building, in part, on research that has identified white matter changes in the brains of people with migraine. Without getting too technical, here’s a brief summary of the research. Researchers used an information theory model called Shannon entropy to study imaging results from 57 people who had posttraumatic migraine, 17 who had endured a concussion but did not have posttraumatic migraine, 20 who had migraine without brain injury, and 22 migraine-free people who did not have a brain injury. Shannon entropy showed to be a useful diagnostic test to differentiate concussion patients from non-concussion patients and whether concussion patients had developed posttraumatic migraine.

The gist: this model may help radiologists predict whether a person will develop migraine following a mild TBI or concussion. Having this information could help doctors choose the most effective treatments following TBI to keep posttraumatic migraine at bay. The research is preliminary, but these early results could lead to better treatment following mild brain injuries.

REFERENCES

Delic, J., Alhilali, L. M., Hughes, M. A., Gumus, S., & Fakhran, S. (2016). White Matter Injuries in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Posttraumatic Migraines: Diffusion Entropy Analysis. Radiology, 151388.

Technique Helps Predict Likelihood of Migraine in Concussion Patients. (2016, February 1). Retrieved from: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-02-technique-likelihood-migraines-concussion-patients.html.