Morphological Abnormalities of Thalamic Subnuclei in Migraine: A Multicenter MRI Study at 3 Tesla

TY - JOUR

T1 - Morphological Abnormalities of Thalamic Subnuclei in Migraine: A Multicenter MRI Study at 3 Tesla

AU - Magon, Stefano

AU - May, Arne

AU - Stankewitz, Anne

AU - Goadsby, Peter J

AU - Tso, Amy R

AU - Ashina, Messoud

AU - Amin, Faisal Mohammad

AU - Seifert, Christian L

AU - Chakravarty, M Mallar

AU - Müller, Jannis

AU - Sprenger, Till

N1 - Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/3513801-07$15.00/0.

PY - 2015/10/7

Y1 - 2015/10/7

N2 - UNLABELLED: The thalamus contains third-order relay neurons of the trigeminal system, and animal models as well as preliminary imaging studies in small cohorts of migraine patients have suggested a role of the thalamus in headache pathophysiology. However, larger studies using advanced imaging techniques in substantial patient populations are lacking. In the present study, we investigated changes of thalamic volume and shape in a large multicenter cohort of patients with migraine. High-resolution T1-weighted MRI data acquired at 3 tesla in 131 patients with migraine (38 with aura; 30.8 ± 9 years old; 109 women; monthly attack frequency: 3.2 ± 2.5; disease duration: 14 ± 8.4 years) and 115 matched healthy subjects (29 ± 7 years old; 81 women) from four international tertiary headache centers were analyzed. The thalamus and thalamic subnuclei, striatum, and globus pallidus were segmented using a fully automated multiatlas approach. Deformation-based shape analysis was performed to localize surface abnormalities. Differences between patients with migraine and healthy subjects were assessed using an ANCOVA model. After correction for multiple comparisons, performed using the false discovery rate approach (p < 0.05 corrected), significant volume reductions of the following thalamic nuclei were observed in migraineurs: central nuclear complex (F(1,233) = 6.79), anterior nucleus (F(1,237) = 7.38), and lateral dorsal nucleus (F(1,238) = 6.79). Moreover, reduced striatal volume (F(1,238) = 6.9) was observed in patients. This large-scale study indicates structural thalamic abnormalities in patients with migraine. The thalamic nuclei with abnormal volumes are densely connected to the limbic system. The data hence lend support to the view that higher-order integration systems are altered in migraine.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: This multicenter imaging study shows morphological thalamic abnormalities in a large cohort of patients with episodic migraine compared with healthy subjects using state-of-the-art MRI and advanced, fully automated multiatlas segmentation techniques. The results stress that migraine is a disorder of the CNS in which not only is brain function abnormal, but also brain structure is undergoing significant remodeling.

AB - UNLABELLED: The thalamus contains third-order relay neurons of the trigeminal system, and animal models as well as preliminary imaging studies in small cohorts of migraine patients have suggested a role of the thalamus in headache pathophysiology. However, larger studies using advanced imaging techniques in substantial patient populations are lacking. In the present study, we investigated changes of thalamic volume and shape in a large multicenter cohort of patients with migraine. High-resolution T1-weighted MRI data acquired at 3 tesla in 131 patients with migraine (38 with aura; 30.8 ± 9 years old; 109 women; monthly attack frequency: 3.2 ± 2.5; disease duration: 14 ± 8.4 years) and 115 matched healthy subjects (29 ± 7 years old; 81 women) from four international tertiary headache centers were analyzed. The thalamus and thalamic subnuclei, striatum, and globus pallidus were segmented using a fully automated multiatlas approach. Deformation-based shape analysis was performed to localize surface abnormalities. Differences between patients with migraine and healthy subjects were assessed using an ANCOVA model. After correction for multiple comparisons, performed using the false discovery rate approach (p < 0.05 corrected), significant volume reductions of the following thalamic nuclei were observed in migraineurs: central nuclear complex (F(1,233) = 6.79), anterior nucleus (F(1,237) = 7.38), and lateral dorsal nucleus (F(1,238) = 6.79). Moreover, reduced striatal volume (F(1,238) = 6.9) was observed in patients. This large-scale study indicates structural thalamic abnormalities in patients with migraine. The thalamic nuclei with abnormal volumes are densely connected to the limbic system. The data hence lend support to the view that higher-order integration systems are altered in migraine.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: This multicenter imaging study shows morphological thalamic abnormalities in a large cohort of patients with episodic migraine compared with healthy subjects using state-of-the-art MRI and advanced, fully automated multiatlas segmentation techniques. The results stress that migraine is a disorder of the CNS in which not only is brain function abnormal, but also brain structure is undergoing significant remodeling.

KW - Adult

KW - Analysis of Variance

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Imaging, Three-Dimensional

KW - Magnetic Resonance Imaging

KW - Male

KW - Migraine Disorders

KW - Severity of Illness Index

KW - Thalamic Nuclei

KW - Young Adult

U2 - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2154-15.2015

DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2154-15.2015

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 26446230

VL - 35

SP - 13800

EP - 13806

JO - J NEUROSCI

JF - J NEUROSCI

SN - 0270-6474

IS - 40

ER -