Cognitive dysfunction in patients with chronic migraine

1. BackgroundMigraine is one of the most common headache disorders with a prevalence of 1-3% in the general population, and its prevalence is higher in women than in men (1, 2). Cognitive dysfunctions have been commonly reported in patients with migraine(3, 4); and to our knowledge the most frequently reported domains of impairment among these patients are concentration and thinking ability. Nevertheless the occurrence of cognitive impairments and its association with migraine is still debated. The main aim of the present study is to characterize the cognitive profile in a clinic-based sample of patients with mild migraine headache. 2. Method Cognitive function of patients with migraine was assessed by a battery of neuropsychological tests including Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) for assessment of mild cognitive impairment , Auditory verbal learning test (AVLT) for verbal memory evaluation, Digits Span forward and backward tests for attention and working memory, and Digit symbol substitution test (DSST) for assessment of memory. 3. ResultsSo far, we have included 12 patients (10 female/2 male) with the mean age of 28.5 ± 9.2 years, and 10 healthy controls (6 female/4 male) with the mean age of 30.2 ± 9.3. Regarding AVLT scores, group differences on trial 1 (P=0.897) was not significant, while on trial trial 2 (P=0.03), trial 3 (P=0.039), trial 4(P=0.016), trial 5 (P=0.006), recognition trial (P=0.001) and the total score of trials 1-5 (P=0.01) were statistically significant.MoCA test result was abnormal in 33.3% of patients. In terms of DSST, patients performance was significantly poorer than controls (p=0.04); however, no significant differences in Digits Span forward and backward scores were observed between the two groups.4. Conclusions These preliminary results can represent the existence of a mild cognitive impairment among Iranian patientswith mild migraine headache especially in the domains of verbal and working memory and attention. 5. References 1. Bigal ME, Edvinsson L, Rapoport AM, Lipton RB, Spierings EL, Diener H-C, et al. Safety, tolerability, and efficacy of TEV-48125 for preventive treatment of chronic migraine: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2b study. The Lancet Neurology. 2015;14(11):1091-100.2. Launer LJ, Terwindt GM, Ferrari MD. The prevalence and characteristics of migraine in a population-based cohort The GEM Study. Neurology. 1999;53(3):537-. 3. Santangelo G, Russo A, Trojano L, Falco F, Marcuccio L, Siciliano M, et al. Cognitive dysfunctions and psychological symptoms in migraine without aura: a cross-sectional study. The journal of headache and pain. 2016;17(1):76.4. Zeitlin C, Oddy M. Cognitive impairment in patients with severe migraine. British journal of clinical psychology. 1984;23(1):27-35.