About one in three multiple sclerosis patients have migraine

(HealthDay)—Internationally, more than three in 10 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have migraine, according to a review published in the September issue of the Journal of Clinical Neuroscience.

Omid Mirmosayyeb, M.D., from Isfahan University in Iran, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis to estimate the pooled prevalence of migraine in patients with MS.

Based on 11 articles and 12 abstract conference papers (11,372 MS cases), the researchers found that 2,627 MS patients had migraine. The prevalence of migraine ranged in studies from 2 to 67 percent, whereas the pooled prevalence of migraine was 31 percent. There was significant variance observed in the pooled prevalence of migraine among MS patients from different continents: 24 percent in Asian countries, 43 percent in American countries, 25 percent in European countries, and 43 percent in African countries.

"There are debates if there is genetic involvement in development of both diseases as migraine and MS both are more prevalent in women and whites and less frequent in Asians," the authors write.

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