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Cerebral sodium (23Na) magnetic resonance imaging in patients with migraine — a case-control study

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Abstract

Objective

Evaluation of MRI-derived cerebral 23Na concentrations in patients with migraine in comparison with healthy controls.

Materials and methods

In this case-control study, 24 female migraine patients (mean age, 34 ± 11 years) were enrolled after evaluation of standardized questionnaires. Half (n = 12) of the cohort suffered from migraine, the other half was impaired by both migraine and tension-type headaches (TTH). The combined patient cohort was matched to 12 healthy female controls (mean age, 34 ± 11 years). All participants underwent a cerebral 23Na-magnetic resonance imaging examination at 3.0 T, which included a T1w MP-RAGE sequence and a 3D density-adapted, radial gradient echo sequence for 23Na imaging. Circular regions of interests were placed in predetermined anatomic regions: cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), gray and white matter, brain stem, and cerebellum. External 23Na reference phantoms were used to calculate the total 23Na tissue concentrations. Pearson’s correlation, Kendall Tau, and Wilcoxon rank sum test were used for statistical analysis.

Results

23Na concentrations of all patients in the CSF were significantly higher than in healthy controls (p < 0.001). The CSF of both the migraine and mixed migraine/TTH group showed significantly increased sodium concentrations compared to the control group (p = 0.007 and p < 0.001). Within the patient cohort, a positive correlation between pain level and TSC in the CSF (r = 0.62) could be observed.

Conclusion

MRI-derived cerebral 23Na concentrations in the CSF of migraine patients were found to be statistically significantly higher than in healthy controls.

Key Points

• Cerebral sodium MRI supports the theory of ionic imbalances and may aid in the challenging pathophysiologic understanding of migraine.

• Case-control study shows significantly higher sodium concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid of migraineurs.

• Cerebral sodium MRI may become a non-invasive imaging tool for drugs to modulate sodium, and hence migraine, on a molecular level, and influence patient management.

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Abbreviations

CSF:

Cerebrospinal fluid

DWI:

Diffusion-weighted imaging

FLAIR:

Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery

GM:

Gray matter

MP-RAGE:

Magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition gradient echo

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

SD:

Standard deviation

TSC:

Total sodium concentration

TTH:

Tension-type headaches

WM:

White matter

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Acknowledgments

IRB approval: Medical Ethics Committee II Mannheim, Germany; reference number: 2013 566N – MA.

Funding

The authors state that this work has not received any funding.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, 68167, Mannheim, Germany

    Melissa M. Meyer, Alexander Schmidt, Johannes Budjan, Mathias Meyer & Stefan O. Schoenberg

  2. Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Alexander Schmidt

  3. Clinic for Anaesthesiology and Operative Intensive Care, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany

    Justus Benrath

  4. MR-Imaging and Spectroscopy, Fraunhofer MEVIS, Bremen, Germany

    Simon Konstandin

  5. Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany

    Lothar R. Pilz

  6. Huntington Medical Research Institutes, Pasadena, CA, USA

    Michael G. Harrington

  7. Computer Assisted Clinical Medicine, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany

    Lothar R. Schad

  8. Department of Radiology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Stefan Haneder

Authors
  1. Melissa M. Meyer
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  2. Alexander Schmidt
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  3. Justus Benrath
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  4. Simon Konstandin
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  5. Lothar R. Pilz
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  6. Michael G. Harrington
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  7. Johannes Budjan
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  8. Mathias Meyer
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  9. Lothar R. Schad
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  10. Stefan O. Schoenberg
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  11. Stefan Haneder
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Melissa M. Meyer.

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Guarantor

The scientific guarantor of this publication is Melissa Meyer, MD.

Conflict of interest

The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies, whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.

Statistics and biometry

One of the authors has significant statistical expertise.

Lothar R. Pilz, co-author.

Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.

Informed consent

Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects (patients) in this study.

Ethical approval

Institutional Review Board approval was obtained.

Methodology

• prospective

• case-control study

• performed at one institution

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Meyer, M.M., Schmidt, A., Benrath, J. et al. Cerebral sodium (23Na) magnetic resonance imaging in patients with migraine — a case-control study. Eur Radiol 29, 7055–7062 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-019-06299-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-019-06299-1

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