Clinical Characteristics of Migraine with Aura in Korean: a Clinic Based Study

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Several population- and clinic-based studies have investigated the clinical characteristics of migraine with aura in Western countries. However, migraine with aura has not been investigated in Korea or other Asian countries. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and characteristics of migraine with aura in Korea. METHODS: We consecutively recruited patients with migraine from 2010 to 2014 in the Eulji Headache Clinic. Migraines with and without aura were diagnosed according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders-II criteria based on a clinical interview and structured questionnaire. RESULTS: In total, 97 (35% males and 65% females) and 649 (12% males and 88% females) patients were diagnosed as migraines with and without aura, respectively. Visual aura was the most common type of aura (94%) among patients with migraine with aura, followed by sensory aura (6%) and then speech aura, retinal aura, and brainstem aura (each 3%). The most frequently accompanying headache type was migraine (77%), followed by nonmigraine headache (17%), with no headache presenting in 6% of patients. Migraine without aura was the most common headache (61%) outside of migraine with aura, followed by nonmigraine headache (14%). CONCLUSIONS: Only 13% of migraineurs have aura symptoms. Nonvisual aura symptoms are rare in Korean patients with migraine with aura.