OCR Text |
Show 145 school of medicine and health sciences UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ABSTRACTS Approximately 30% of patients with a migraine have an aura. The common symptoms regarding a mi-graine with an aura are: visual, somatosensory, speech, motor dysfunction that are distinct from the pain and autonomic features (i.e., nausea, vomiting). Based on clinical anecdotes, there is substantiation that aura rates are higher in Utah; a state characterized by high altitude and a genetically distinct populace. The data supporting the supposition is a retrospective chart assessment of 300 patients seen at one headache clinic at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, by three different providers from November 2010 to November 2011. Of the 300 subjects in the study: 149 subjects had a migraine with aura; for an aura rate of 48% overall, 83% of subjects had a visual aura, 51% of subjects had a somatosensory aura, and 21% of the subjects had a speech aura (patients could have multiple aura subtypes). The female to male ratio for all subjects was approximately 4 to 1, and did not differ in either aura subjects or aura subtypes. The aura rate did not differ between females and males. The average age of the subject population was 42 (range 18 - 77). In a sub-set of 121 subjects the average Body Mass Index (BMI) was 29. The outcome of the study suggests an increased rate of aura in a tertiary headache population at the University of Utah. The largest part of the catchment population lives more than 4000 feet above sea level, which raises the possibility that altitude might play a role in this phenotype. An additional possibility is Utah's distinct population genetics may play a role in migraine aura. In conclusion, elevated BMI has been associated with chronic migraine. It is possible that it is associated with aura in Utah population. Additional parameters such as sex ratio and age were comparable to other headache clinic populations, suggesting that these did not play a role. Limitations include that the study was retrospective, and conducted in one tertiary headache center. Future work will employ prospective methods and compare with other headache centers at altitude and at sea level. THE IMPACT OF ALTITUDE ON THE FREQUENCY OF MIGRAINE AURA Ka-Ho Wong (K.C Brennan) Department of Neurology University of Utah Ka-Ho Wong K.C. Brennan |