BASILAR MIGRAINE

Course overview

A MIGRAINE WITH PREDOMINANT BRAINSTEM AURA SYMPTOMS IS KNOWN AS A BASILAR MIGRAINE. BICKERSTAFF FIRST DESCRIBED IT IN 1961. OTHER NAMES FOR IT ARE BASILAR ARTERY MIGRAINE, BASILAR-TYPE MIGRAINE, BRAINSTEM MIGRAINE, VERTEBROBASILAR MIGRAINE, AND BICKERSTAFF MIGRAINE. IT WAS NAMED BASILAR MIGRAINE BECAUSE IT WAS THOUGHT TO BE CAUSED BY SPASM OF THE BASILAR ARTERY. HOWEVER, THERE IS NO PROVEN EVIDENCE OF VASCULAR PATHOLOGY FOR A BASILAR MIGRAINE, AND IT IS NOW BELIEVED TO BE DUE TO THE FIRING OF NERVES IN THE BRAINSTEM. IT IS NOW RECOGNIZED AS A SUBTYPE OF MIGRAINE WITH AURA AND IS PREFERABLY CALLED "MIGRAINE WITH BRAINSTEM AURA." THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE CAUSE, PATHOPHYSIOLOGY, PRESENTATION, AND DIAGNOSIS OF BASILAR MIGRAINE AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN ITS MANAGEMENT.