Background: Studies of brain perfusion during migraine without aura attacks have inconsistent results.
Methods: Arterial spin labeling MRI, a non-invasive quantitative perfusion technique, was used to prospectively study a spontaneous untreated migraine without aura attack and a headache-free period. Image analysis used FSL and MATLAB software; Group analysis used permutation methods for perfusion differences between sessions.
Results: Thirteen women (age 35.7) were scanned during an attack of an average intensity of 6.8 (on 0-10 Visual Analog Scale) and 16 h duration. No global or regional perfusion differences were identified when comparing migraine and migraine-free sessions.
Discussion: Our findings suggest that the painful phase of migraine without aura attacks is not associated with brain perfusion abnormalities.
Keywords: cerebrovascular circulation; magnetic resonance imaging; migraine; perfusion arterial spin labeling neuroimaging.