2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose-6-phosphate and Migraine-Disorders

Cortical spreading depression (SD) is a self-propagating wave of depolarization that is thought to be an underling mechanism of migraine aura. Growing evidence demonstrates that cortical SD triggers neurogenic meningeal inflammation and contributes to migraine headaches via subsequent activation of trigeminal afferents. Although direct and indirect evidence shows that cortical SD activates the trigeminal ganglion (peripheral pathway) and the trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC, the first central site of the trigeminal nociceptive pathway), it is not yet known whether cortical SD activates the high-order trigeminal nociceptive pathway in the brain. To address this, we induced unilateral cortical SD in rats, and then examined brain activity using voxel-based statistical parametric mapping analysis of FDG-PET imaging. The results show that approximately 40h after the induction of unilateral cortical SD, regional brain activity significantly increased in several regions, including ipsilateral TNC, contralateral ventral posteromedial (VPM) and posterior thalamic nuclei (Po), the trigeminal barrel-field region of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1BF), and secondary somatosensory cortex (S2). These results suggest that cortical SD is a noxious stimulus that can activate the high-order trigeminal nociceptive pathway even after cortical SD has subsided, probably due to prolonged meningeal inflammation.

Topics: Animals; Cortical Spreading Depression; Disease Models, Animal; Glucose-6-Phosphate; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Laser-Doppler Flowmetry; Male; Migraine Disorders; Neural Pathways; Positron-Emission Tomography; Radiopharmaceuticals; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Trigeminal Caudal Nucleus; Trigeminal Nerve

To compare metabolism in the brains of migraineurs during headache-free periods with those obtained from healthy volunteers.. Eleven migraineurs (defined by the International Headache Society's criteria) presented during spontaneous headache-free intervals to undergo (18)FDG PET brain imaging of glucose metabolism. The control group consisted of 14 healthy volunteers. Comparison of images was done using Statistical Parametric Mapping to detect significant (P < .05) differences in brain glucose metabolism between the 2 groups.. Two regions of significant increase in glucose uptake were identified in migraineurs relative to the control population. The 2 regions were mapped predominantly to the posterior white matter of the cerebrum and cerebellum.. Our study demonstrates the presence of what may be a primary metabolic disturbance in the posterior white matter of the brain in migraineurs.

Topics: Adult; Brain; Female; Glucose; Glucose-6-Phosphate; Humans; Male; Migraine Disorders; Positron-Emission Tomography; Radiopharmaceuticals