Migraine related white matter lesions in the differential diagnosis of multiple sclerosis: Magnetic resonance imaging features

Abstract

Aim: This study aims to describe the lesion characteristics of conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of patients who are directed to a university hospital with a pre-diagnosis of demyelinating disease who are finally diagnosed as MrWMLs.Material and Methods: Individuals who were referred to an MS outpatient clinic of a university hospital with a pre-diagnosis of demyelinating disease and finally diagnosed with migraine according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD) -3 (β) criteria who also have MrWMLs and 45 age and gender-matched individuals who are diagnosed with MS according to the 2017 McDonald diagnostic criteria, without migraine-type headache were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Forty-five individuals with migraine and 45 age and gender-matched individuals who are diagnosed with MS were included. The median time since diagnosis was 10 (0.5-32) years for the migraine group and 5 (0.3-20) years in the group with MS (p=0.031). The median age of the group with migraine was 35 (23-54) years, while the median age of the group with MS was 34 (20-55) years. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of average age and gender distribution (p=0.342 and p=0.389). The total number of T1 and T2 lesions were significantly higher in the MS group. Similarly, the number of infratentorial and periventricular lesions was higher in the MS group (p