• Elizabeth Loehrer, Meike W Vernooij, Aad van der Lugt, Albert Hofman, and M Arfan Ikram.
• Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
• Cephalalgia. 2015 Feb 1; 35 (2): 190-8.

IntroductionObservations that migraine increases risk of cardiovascular disease and ischemic brain changes may suggest sustained vascular differences between migraineurs and controls. In a population-based setting, we compared cerebral blood flow between migraineurs in the attack-free period and controls.MethodsBetween 2006 and 2008, 2642 participants, aged 45-65, from the Rotterdam Study completed a migraine questionnaire and had complete usable MRI data. Participants were classified into controls (N = 2033), probable migraine (N = 153), or migraine (N = 456). Using 2D phase contrast MRI, we performed a cross-sectional analysis of the effect of migraine on total cerebral blood flow (tCBF), parenchymal cerebral blood flow (pCBF), and blood flow in each intracranial arterial using linear regression. Additionally, we performed stratified analysis of subtypes of migraine.ResultsCompared with controls, migraineurs had higher pCBF (1.07 ml/min/100 ml, 95% CI 0.08; 2.05). In particular, migraineurs had significantly higher blood flow in the basilar artery (4.70 ml/min, 95% CI 0.77; 8.62).DiscussionMigraineurs in the attack-free period have higher pCBF, particularly basilar artery flow, compared to controls, supporting the notion of sustained vascular differences between these groups outside of migraine attacks.© International Headache Society 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

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