Persistent aura without infarction | |
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Specialty | Neurology, Neuro-ophthalmology |
Symptoms | Prolonged aura in vision, Visual snow |
Duration | Long-term |
Causes | Unknown |
Risk factors | Migraine sufferer |
Differential diagnosis | Scintillating scotoma, Visual snow |
Persistent aura without infarction (PAWOI) is a rare and seemingly benign [1] condition, first described in case reports in 1982 as "prolonged/persistent migraine aura status", [2] and in 2000 as "migraine aura status", [3] [4] that is not yet fully understood. PAWOI is said to possibly be a factor involved in a variety of neurological symptoms, including visual snow, loss of vision, increased afterimages, tinnitus, and others. The pathogenesis of PAWOI is unknown. It is not clear which medical examinations are useful in diagnosing PAWOI. At present, PAWOI is usually diagnosed solely based on the patient's current and past symptoms. It is possible that an "overactive brain" or a chemical imbalance underlies the disorder. Various medications have been tried as treatment, notably acetazolamide, [3] valproate, [4] lamotrigine, [1] topiramate, and furosemide. [5]
Migraine is a genetically influenced complex neurological disorder characterized by episodes of moderate-to-severe headache, most often unilateral and generally associated with nausea and light and sound sensitivity. Other characterizing symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, cognitive dysfunction, allodynia, and dizziness. Exacerbation of headache symptoms during physical activity is another distinguishing feature. Up to one-third of migraine sufferers experience aura: a premonitory period of sensory disturbance widely accepted to be caused by cortical spreading depression at the onset of a migraine attack. Although primarily considered to be a headache disorder, migraine is highly heterogenous in its clinical presentation and is better thought of as a spectrum disease rather than a distinct clinical entity. Disease burden can range from episodic discrete attacks, consisting of as little as several lifetime attacks, to chronic disease.
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), previously known as pseudotumor cerebri and benign intracranial hypertension, is a condition characterized by increased intracranial pressure without a detectable cause. The main symptoms are headache, vision problems, ringing in the ears, and shoulder pain. Complications may include vision loss.
Headache, also known as cephalalgia, is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches.
Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS), also known as Todd's syndrome or dysmetropsia, is a neurological disorder that distorts perception. People with this syndrome may experience distortions in their visual perception of objects, such as appearing smaller (micropsia) or larger (macropsia), or appearing to be closer (pelopsia) or farther (teleopsia) than they are. Distortion may also occur for senses other than vision.
A medication overuse headache (MOH), also known as a rebound headache, usually occurs when painkillers are taken frequently to relieve headaches. These cases are often referred to as painkiller headaches. Rebound headaches frequently occur daily, can be very painful and are a common cause of chronic daily headache. They typically occur in patients with an underlying headache disorder such as migraine or tension-type headache that "transforms" over time from an episodic condition to chronic daily headache due to excessive intake of acute headache relief medications. MOH is a serious, disabling and well-characterized disorder, which represents a worldwide problem and is now considered the third-most prevalent type of headache. The proportion of patients in the population with Chronic Daily Headache (CDH) who overuse acute medications ranges from 18% to 33%. The prevalence of medication overuse headache (MOH) varies depending on the population studied and diagnostic criteria used. However, it is estimated that MOH affects approximately 1-2% of the general population, but its relative frequency is much higher in secondary and tertiary care.
Visual snow syndrome (VSS) is a form of visual hallucination that is characterized by the perception of small, bilateral, simultaneous, diffuse, mobile, asynchronous dots usually throughout the entire visual field, but it can be partial, and it is present in all conditions of illumination, even with the eyes closed. The dots remain individual and do not clump together or change in size. Visual snow exists in one of two forms: the pulse type and the broadband type.
Palinopsia is the persistent recurrence of a visual image after the stimulus has been removed. Palinopsia is not a diagnosis; it is a diverse group of pathological visual symptoms with a wide variety of causes. Visual perseveration is synonymous with palinopsia.
Acephalgic migraine is a neurological syndrome. It is a relatively uncommon variant of migraine in which the patient may experience some migraine symptoms such as aura, nausea, photophobia, and hemiparesis, but does not experience headache. It is generally classified as an event fulfilling the conditions of migraine with aura with no headache. It is sometimes distinguished from visual-only migraine aura without headache, also called ocular migraine.
Familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) is an autosomal dominant type of hemiplegic migraine that typically includes weakness of half the body which can last for hours, days, or weeks. It can be accompanied by other symptoms, such as ataxia, coma, and paralysis. Migraine attacks may be provoked by minor head trauma. Some cases of minor head trauma in patients with hemiplegic migraine can develop into delayed cerebral edema, a life-threatening medical emergency. Clinical overlap occurs in some FHM patients with episodic ataxia type 2 and spinocerebellar ataxia type 6, benign familial infantile epilepsy, and alternating hemiplegia of childhood.
Sporadic hemiplegic migraine (SHM) is a form of hemiplegic migraine headache isolated cases of which are observed. It is a rare disease. It is considered to be a separate type of migraine.
Episodic ataxia (EA) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by sporadic bouts of ataxia with or without myokymia. There are seven types recognized but the majority are due to two recognized entities. Ataxia can be provoked by psychological stress or startle, or heavy exertion, including exercise. Symptoms can first appear in infancy. There are at least six loci for EA, of which 4 are known genes. Some patients with EA also have migraine or progressive cerebellar degenerative disorders, symptomatic of either familial hemiplegic migraine or spinocerebellar ataxia. Some patients respond to acetazolamide though others do not.
New daily persistent headache (NDPH) is a primary headache syndrome which can mimic chronic migraine and chronic tension-type headache. The headache is daily and unremitting from very soon after onset, usually in a person who does not have a history of a primary headache disorder. The pain can be intermittent, but lasts more than 3 months. Headache onset is abrupt and people often remember the date, circumstance and, occasionally, the time of headache onset. One retrospective study stated that over 80% of patients could state the exact date their headache began.
Vestibular migraine (VM) is vertigo with migraine, either as a symptom of migraine or as a related neurological disorder.
The classification of all headaches, including migraines, is organized by the International Headache Society, and published in the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD). The current version, the ICHD-3 beta, was published in 2013.
Preventive treatment of migraine can be an important component of migraine management. Such treatments can take many forms, including everything from surgery, taking certain drugs or nutritional supplements, to lifestyle alterations such as increased exercise and avoidance of migraine triggers.
Migralepsy is a rare condition in which a migraine is followed, within an hour period, by an epileptic seizure. Because of the similarities in signs, symptoms, and treatments of both conditions, such as the neurological basis, the psychological issues, and the autonomic distress that is created from them, they individually increase the likelihood of causing the other. However, also because of the sameness, they are often misdiagnosed for each other, as migralepsy rarely occurs.
Illusory palinopsia is a subtype of palinopsia, a visual disturbance defined as the persistence or recurrence of a visual image after the stimulus has been removed. Palinopsia is a broad term describing a heterogeneous group of symptoms, which is divided into hallucinatory palinopsia and illusory palinopsia. Illusory palinopsia is likely due to sustained awareness of a stimulus and is similar to a visual illusion: the distorted perception of a real external stimulus.
Hallucinatory palinopsia is a subtype of palinopsia, a visual disturbance defined as the persistent or recurrence of a visual image after the stimulus has been removed. Palinopsia is a broad term describing a group of symptoms which is divided into hallucinatory palinopsia and illusory palinopsia. Hallucinatory palinopsia refers to the projection of an already-encoded visual memory and is similar to a complex visual hallucination: the creation of a formed visual image where none exists.
A migrainous infarction is a rare type of ischaemic stroke which occurs in correspondence with migraine aura symptoms. Symptoms include headaches, visual disturbances, strange sensations and dysphasia, all of which gradually worsen causing neurological changes which ultimately increase the risk of an ischaemic stroke. Typically, women under the age of 45 who experience migraine with aura (MA) are at the greatest risk for developing migrainous infarction, especially when combined with smoking and use of oral contraceptives.
Recurrent painful ophthalmoplegic neuropathy (RPON), previously known as ophthalmoplegic migraine (OM), is a rare neurological disorder that is characterized by repeated headache attacks and reversible ipsilateral paresis of one or more ocular cranial nerves (CN). Oculomotor nerve (CNIII) is by far the most common cranial nerve involves in RPON, while abducens nerve (CNVI) and trochlear nerve (CNIV) involvements are also reported. Globally, RPON was estimated to have an annual incidence rate of 0.7 per million as of 1990, no further epidemiological studies have been conducted. It occurs more often in children and females.