Interictal cortical excitability to magnetic stimulation in familial hemiplegic migraine.

We studied interictal cortical excitability with magnetic stimulation in controls, in patients with migraine with aura, and in patients with familial hemiplegic migraine (FHM), in which ictal hemiparesis occurs. Amplitudes (p < 0.05) and amplitude ratios (p < 0.01) revealed heightened excitability in migraine with aura when compared to controls. In patients with FHM, mean thresholds were higher (p < 0.001) and conduction times longer (p < 0.01) than in controls. In FHM, amplitudes were lower on the ictally paretic side of the body than on the other (p < 0.05). Patients with FHM may have increased interictal cortical excitability, complicated by decreased excitability of the affected side.