Hemiplegic Migraine

Hemiplegic migraine is one of the less common types of migraine diseases This migraine disease is typically distinguished by one of two forms, either familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM) or sporadic hemiplegic migraine (SHM). Both types of hemiplegic migraines typically develop during the early years of an individual’s life and tend to subside by the adult years.

Hemiplegic migraine disease is often left undiagnosed due to the fact that the symptoms are comparable to the symptoms of vascular disease. Many different conditions may be assumed based on the hemiplegic migraine symptoms. The symptoms between the two types of hemiplegic migraine diseases are pretty much all the same. Where the two diseases differs is the genetic profile of them. With familial hemiplegic migraine disease it is possible to identify genetic mutation of the 1 and 19 chromosomes. Sporadic hemiplegic migraine disease does not feature this family history or genetic mutation.

The common symptoms of hemiplegic migraine disease includes aura episodes, hemiplegic, meningismus, ataxia, nausea, vomiting, and fever. The aura episodes typically last for an extended period of time for up to a couple of weeks. Hemiplegia is one of the more noticeable signs as it consists of paralysis to the left or right side of the body. Meningismus consists of meningitis symptoms minus the inflammation and actual condition. Ataxia is improper coordination of the muscles and it may affect various muscles throughout the body. Nausea, vomiting, and fever are all symptoms that would be noticed but they are very general and could be attributed to many different illnesses and medical conditions.

Familial Hemiplegic Migraine

With familial hemiplegic migraine disease it is common that hemi paresis is experienced. This consists of a single half of the body being weakened but not to the extent of paralysis. This typically occurs during the aura episodes. It is possible for coma and elliptic seizures to occur as a result of the migraine disease also. The genetic mutation that occurs in individuals with familial hemiplegic migraine disease varies by person. In roughly half of patients with this disease the mutation affects the genetic coding of the P and Q calcium channel. This is termed as FHM1 (CACNA1A). FHM2 is the second most common mutation and occurs in the sodium pump. This is termed as FHM2 (SCN1A). There are FHM3 and FHM4 mutations as well but these are much less common.

Sporadic Hemiplegic Migraine

With sporadic hemiplegic migraine disease there are not genetic mutations such as in familial hemiplegic migraine disease. This particular type of migraine disease is more commonly noted for being the first occurrence in the direct family. What this means is that no sibling, parent, or child of the patient will have this disease. In some very rare cases there are mutations to the FHM1 gene (CACNA1A). The symptoms noted for those with sporadic hemiplegic are typically identical to the symptoms experienced by individuals with familial hemiplegic migraine. Of course, certain symptoms may be more prominent and this will vary by patient but the list of symptoms that may be experienced are practically the same.

If you are attempting diagnosis of hemiplegic migraines then you will want to consider whether you suffer from familial hemiplegic or sporadic hemiplegic migraines. A good way of doing this is to check with your siblings and parents to see if they have experienced hemiplegic migraine attacks. Your children may currently be experiencing it but yours will likely have subsided by this point. Your parents or siblings may have previously experienced the symptoms of hemiplegic migraines but no diagnosis was made or the condition was mistakenly diagnosed as a vascular disease. If any direct relative has experienced the symptoms of hemiplegic migraines then there is a higher chance that you are experiencing it. If this is the case you would not be looking into diagnosis of sporadic hemiplegic migraine disease as there is most likely the genetic mutation involved which is common with familial hemiplegic disease.

Hemiplegic Migraine Treatment

As familial hemiplegic and sporadic hemiplegic migraine diseases are practically the same disease aside from the genetic makeup the treatment methods used for both of these will be the same. The symptoms of hemiplegic migraine diseases are very severe and treating them is considered to be difficult. However, you will want to know about the treatment options that are available so you can minimize the severity of the symptoms that you are experiencing. At the very least, if you could at least make the symptoms of the disease to be bearable then that would be an accomplishment.

You will want to find a migraine specialist to help you with the treatment process. Make sure that you find a specialist that is experienced with treating this type of migraine disease as you may be the first patient with hemiplegic migraine disease for a lot of doctors. Many people will use pain relief medication to help them with treating the symptoms of their hemiplegic migraine disease. For example, Verapamil is commonly used to help with treating these migraine diseases. Various other types of medication are often recommended for hemiplegic migraine treatment as well, such as narcotic analgesics and NSAID’s (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Most medication is only effective in treating the migraine attacks that you are experiencing. You may want to look into preventive medicine as well, such as calcium channel blockers. This can lower the frequency and severity of migraine attacks that will occur in the future.

Hemiplegic migraine diseases are not an incredibly common type of migraine disease but a lot of their instances go undiagnosed. This is a major medical problem which can have serious affects on your daily life when migraine attacks are occurring. This issue targets young children and typically subsides once they reach the young adult stage. If you suspect that you or your child suffers from a hemiplegic migraine disease then you will want to get referred to a migraine specialist for the appropriate diagnosis and treatment assistance. In closing, hemiplegic migraine diseases are very serious and have severe migraine attacks that are very painful to deal with so you should seek medical attention if you are suffering from these symptoms as the correct diagnosis will help you with deciding how to treat the problem.