WHITE MATTER HYPER INTENSITIES IN MIGRAINE PATIENTS OF ALHADA ARMED FORCES HOSPITAL, TAIF CITY.

Introduction: Migraines are regarded as a common neurologic disease typically characterized by recurrent attacks of severe headaches. Some data have shown a link between migraine diagnosis and presence of white matter hyperintensities  in MRI results. However, it remains unclear among the Arab population.

Objective: The goal of this study is to find the correlation between diagnosis and frequency of migraine attacks besides durations, severity and gender to the presence of white matter hyperintensities in MRI results.

• The study included two steps. The first step was a survey for an outpatient neurology clinic in Al Hada hospital from the beginning of November 2018 till the end of January 2019. The second step included recording the MRI results of the participants and classifying the presence of white matter hyperintensities using Wahlund classifications for white matter lesions.
• A total of 34 patients were included, and 52.9% had white matter hyperintensity in their MRI. White matter hyperintensity is positively and significantly correlated with age (p=0.007) and negatively correlated with head trauma (p=0.024). Also, it is clinically correlated with smoking, frequency of headache and tension character of headache.

Conclusion: white matter hyperintensities in migraine patients are correlated with different clinical features and comorbidities. Further studies focusing on the clinical significance of the presence of white matter hyperintensities in migraine patients are required.