A case report of sporadic hemiplegic migraine associated cerebral hypoperfusion: comparison of arterial spin labeling and dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion MR imaging.

UNLABELLED: The pathogenesis of sporadic hemiplegic migraine remains unclear, and perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (PWI) has been used for characterization of hemodynamic changes in migraine aura. We report a case of sporadic hemiplegic migraine in which magnetic resonance perfusion imaging showed left cerebral hypoperfusion. Dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) perfusion maps showed hypoperfusion with posterior predominance in the left cerebral hemisphere. Findings with arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion correlated well with DSC perfusion findings.

CONCLUSION: With unique advantages compared with DSC PWI, ASL has significant potential in the evaluation of the patients with sporadic hemiplegic migraine.

WHAT IS KNOWN: Sporadic hemiplegic migraine is a rare variety of migraine defined by migraine attacks, which include the presence of motor weakness/hemiparesis during the aura phase and where no first- or second-degree relative (parent, sibling, or child) has identical attacks.

WHAT IS NEW: Reports on imaging abnormalities described in sporadic hemiplegic migraine are sparse. To our knowledge, this is the first report to describe arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion abnormalities in patients with sporadic hemiplegic migraine, as compared with dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (PWI).