Neuroimaging Studies of Chronic Primary Headaches Using Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging

University of California San Francisco (UCSF)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Chronic Migraine; Migraine

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other; Industry

Identifiers

NCT01741246

1107004

Details and patient eligibility

About

Investigators hypothesize that chronic primary headaches are accompanied by a discrete pattern of brain metabolism and activity involving brain structures related to the development of acute exacerbations as well as pain modulation. Such structures include the brainstem, hypothalamus, and orbitofrontal cortex and can be defined using functional brain imaging.

Full description

Specific aims of the study include:

1. To determine the pattern of brain metabolism using positron emission tomography (PET) found in chronic migraine, episodic migraine and control patients.
2. To determine changes of resting state brain networks using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) between patients with chronic or episodic headache and healthy volunteers.

Enrollment: 78 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patients aged 18-65

  • No medical contraindication.

Chronic headache group:

• Patients with chronic primary headaches who are experiencing phases with background pain as well as habitual pain exacerbations.
• Able to provide informed consent.
• Not pregnant or planning to become so, with a pregnancy test prior to scanning.

Control group and Episodic migraine group:

• Patients with episodic migraine
• Able to provide informed consent.
• Not pregnant or planning to become so, with a pregnancy test prior to scanning.

Exclusion criteria

• Taking a migraine preventive currently or in the last fifteen days.
• Known claustrophobia
• Patient is pregnant, planning to be pregnant, or becomes pregnant.
• Patients with metal implants.
• Patients who have had a study involving radiation within the one year prior to enrolling in this study

Trial design

78 participants in 3 patient groups

Control

Description:

Headache-free subjects.

Episodic migraine

Description:

Patients with less that 15 headache days per month that fulfill International Classification of Headache Disorders 2R (ICHD-2nd edition Revised)- criteria for Episodic Migraine.

Chronic migraine

Description:

Patients that fulfill International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD)-2R criteria for chronic migraine (more than 15 days per month).