Can Monthly Migraines Be Connected To Having Multiple Sclerosis (MS)?

A colleague of mine in Florida, Dan Kanter, wrote a nice piece on MS and migraine for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (MSF) which I have attached for you to read (http://www.msfocus.org/article-details.aspx?articleID=868). There is evidence that migraine and other headache disorders are more common in MS patients than in healthy people without MS. It is certainly a common problem that we encounter almost daily in our MS clinics. There are some interesting similarities between the two conditions:

1. They both are more common in young woman
2. They are both associated with latitude (more common the further one resides from the equator) and show associations with vitamin D deficiency
3. They have both been associated with meningeal inflammatory responses
4. Both conditions may show "white spots" on an MRI scan
   

So what is the association between migraine and MS? This remains unclear. Migraine is so common (30-40 million people in the US) that it is not surprising that we see it in our MS patients by pure chance. Perhaps the meningeal inflammation that occurs in MS is capable of triggering migraine in susceptible patients. This is a testable hypothesis that we are pursuing now.

What is important is to make sure the headaches are migrainous and manage them appropriately. Many drugs can increase migraines in MS patients, particularly interferons and Gilenya. Migraines are one of the most common conditions managed by all neurologists so a good neurologist should be able to help you manage this problem.

Dr. Kinkle